Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Shams Mulani's all-round effort in vain as Tamil Nadu overpower Mumbai; Baroda pip Delhi by 1 run

Surat: Surat: Opener Kunwar Bidhuri’s rearguard fifty went in vain as Delhi suffered a one-run loss to Baroda in a Super League match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Surat on Friday. Sent into bat, Baroda managed a competitive 151 for 6 and then returned to restrict Delhi to 150 for 9 in the 20 overs. Chasing the total, Bidhuri made a 51-ball 68 laced with three fours and four sixes but none of the other Delhi batsmen provided any support as Delhi fell short by a run in the end. Bidhuri was dismissed in the final over. [caption id=“attachment_4344107” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Getty[/caption] Lower-order batsman Suboth Bhati tried his bit with an unbeaten 8-ball 20 but it was not enough in the end. Babashafi Pathan (3/24) claimed three wickets to emerge as the best bowler for Baroda. In another match, left-arm spin duo of R Sai Kishore and debutant M Siddharth spun a web around Mumbai to guide Tamil Nadu to a seven-wicket victory. Siddarth (4-16) and Sai Kishore (3-18) ran through Mumbai’s top and middle order, comprising some of the biggest names in domestic circle, to restrict them to a sub-par 121 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. Later, southpaw C Hari Nishaanth hammered 73 not out from 44 balls (5 fours, six sixes) and added 73 runs with all-rounder Vijay Shankar (27 not out, 20 balls, 3 fours) to see Tamil Nadu home. Hari Nishaanth, who had impressed in the recent Tamil Nadu Premier League with his aggressive batting, kept the scoreboard ticking though the team lost M Shahrukh Khan (17) and Baba Aparajith (0) with the score at 35. Captain Dinesh Karthik, who has been in red-hot form, was trapped leg-before by the impressive Shams Mulani (3/26). However, Nishaanth and Shankar played well and denied Mumbai any further wickets. Put into bat, Mumbai had a horrendous start as their in-form opener Aditya Tare (0) was dismissed on the second ball of the match. He was stumped by wicket-keeper Karthik off left-arm spinner Sai Kishore. There was a double-blow for Mumbai as their skipper Suryakumar Yadav (O) was castled by Siddharth with Mumbai reeling at 2 for 2. Siddharth, who was drafted into the squad as a replacement for an injured Murali Vijay, bowled well to keep the Mumbai batsmen in check and struck some crucial blows. His victims included Prithvi Shaw, skipper Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and Siddhesh Lad. Then Shaw (30), who recently made a comeback to the Mumbai team after serving a eight-month doping ban, tried to steady the ship in company of Mulani, who was promoted up the order. The two put on 42 runs for the third wicket. But an arm-ball from Siddarth was enough to bowl out Shaw as Mumbai were struggling at 44-3. Mulani (73 off 52 balls) held fort from one end but didn’t have support from the other end. The day belonged to Siddarth, who then grabbed another two wickets — Iyer (1) and Lad (3) — as Mumbai slumped to 64/5. Iyer tried to go over the top, but his leading edge was taken by Shahrukh Khan at long-off. On a surface that aided spinners, Sai Kishore then sent back all-rounders Shubham Ranjane (1) and Shivam Dube (1) in the 13th over as Mumbai were tottering at 78 for 7. Thanks to Mulani’s valiant 73, Mumbai crossed the 120-run mark. He hammered 10 fours and a six in his knock. In response, Tamil Nadu owned it to Nishaanth as his knock helped the team chase down the tricky target on a slow pitch in just 13.5 overs. Mulani (3-26), who contributed with the bat, also claimed three wickets but that was not enough. Earlier in the first game of the day, Haryana defeated Rajasthan by four wickets. Opting to bat, Rajasthan crawled to 123/7 as Haryana leg-spiner Rahul Tewatia ran through their batting line-up to return with fine figures of 3-18. Sumit Kumar remained unbeaten on 23 to take Haryana home despite a middle-order collapse. India bowler Yuzvendra Chahal, who has made it to both the ODI and T20 squad against West Indies, though remained wicketless in the match. Brief Scores: At C B Patel Ground: Mumbai 121/9(Shams Mulani 73, Prithvi Shaw 30; Siddarth 4-16, Sai Kishore 3-18) lost to Tamil Nadu 122/3 (Hari Chezhian 73 not out, Vijay Shankar 27 not out; Shams Mulani 3-26) by seven wickets. At CB Patel Ground: Rajasthan 123/7 (Ankit Lamba 38, Chandra Singh 25 not out; Rahul Tewatia 3-18) lost to Haryana 124/6 (Harshal Patel 41; Sumit Kumar 23 not out; Chandra Singh 2-16)by four wickets. At Lalbhai Contractor Stadium: Baroda 151/6 (Aditya Waghmode 36, Deepak Hooda 26; Nitish Rana 2-22) beat Delhi 150/9 (Kunwar Bidhuri 68, Hiten Dalal 22; Babasafi Pathan 3-24.