Baroda pip UP in thriller to win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Mumbai: Baroda pipped Uttar Pradesh by three runs to regain the National T20 title for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in a thrilling last ball finish at the Wankhede stadium here today. Chasing a challenging target of 145, the Venkatesh Prasad-coached Uttar Pradesh team needed 11 runs off 7 balls but lost the plot as the batsmen at the crease, Praveen Kumar and Upendra Yadav, couldn’t manage to overhaul the target and UP finished at 141 for six. Yadav smashed a six off the penultimate ball after Kumar just scored a single in the four balls he faced. With a boundary needed to win, Baroda’s left-hand medium pacer Rishi Arothe kept his cool to dismiss Yadav with a low full toss. [caption id=“attachment_1479573” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Baroda had previously won the title at the Brabourne Stadium here in 2012. Earlier, put in to bat, Baroda posted 144 for seven. They were led by left handed skipper Aditya Waghmode’s quickfire 31-ball 42 (8x4). Waghmode and right handed Kedar Devdhar shared an 80-run stand for the first wicket but the former’s dismissal in the tenth over triggered a collapse and pulled down the run-rate. Baroda lost wickets in quick succession and could add just 64 runs in the last 10 overs. Praveen Kumar and Ali Murtaza scalped two wickets each while Amit Mishra and Prashant Gupta got a wicket apiece. In reply, UP suffered a setback when opener Mukul Dagar was dismissed in the fourth over but Prashant Gupta and Eklavya Dwivedi forged a 98-run stand for the second wicket to steer the team towards the total. Last-match centurion Gupta continued in the same form as he made a 53-ball 68 that was laced with eight fours and a six, while ‘keeper-bat Dwivedi made 56 off 47 balls that comprised six fours. UP lost the plot after Gupta was caught brilliantly at mid-on by Abhijit Karambelkar in the 17th over and later lost quick wickets to finish short of the finishing line. Left-arm medium pacer Lukman Meriwala, who was the highest wicket taker in the tournament, scalped 3 for 31. Brief scores: Baroda 144 for 7 (A Waghmode 42, K Devdhar 26; P Kumar 2 for 24, A Murtaza 2 for 22) beat Uttar Pradesh 141 for six (P Gupta 68, E Dwivedi 56; L Meriwala 3 for 31). PTI