The ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy has reached its final stage. Ahmedabad already hosted two quarter-finals on Tuesday with two more scheduled for tomorrow.
Punjab won first quarter-final of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. They beat the defending champions Karnataka by nine wickets at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad to book their spot in the final four stages of the tournament.
Karnataka were restricted for just 87 runs in 17.2 overs as only Aniruddha Joshi could go past 20 runs. Brilliant bowling spells from Punjab players were on display as Sandeep Sharma (2.2-0-17-2), Arshdeep Singh (3-0-16-2), Siddarth Kaul (4-1-15-3), and Ramandeep Singh (4-0-22-2) did their bit. It was an easy chase for Punjab and they sealed the win with 44 balls to spare. Although Abhishek Sharma left early for four runs, Prabhsimran Singh (49*) and captain Mandeep Singh (35*) partnered added 85 runs together to claim the important win.
The second quarter-final was played between Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu claimed a dominating win and became the second team to reach the next level of the tournament.
Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to field first. The bowlers justified the decision as they managed to restrict Himachal Pradesh for a decent 135 runs for the loss of nine wickets. the captain Rishi Dhawan scored an unbeaten 35 runs off 26 balls while Abhimanyu Rana and Nitin Sharma added 28 and 26 respectively. Sonu Yadav took three wickets and Sandeep Warrier took two for Tamil Nadu. In reply, it was Baba Aparajith’s 52* off 45 balls that helped Tamil Nadu seal a comfortable win losing five wickets. Shahrukh Khan was another contributor for them with a cameo off 19-ball 40*.
Today, the other two quarter-finals will be played in Ahmedabad; third one between Haryana and Baroda and fourth match between Rajasthan and Bihar.