Mohali (Punjab): Punjab rode on a belligerent ton by Anmolpreet Singh, who dished out an unbelievable exhibition of power-hitting and pacer Arshdeep Singh's three-wicket haul to beat Baroda by 20 runs and lift their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The final of the domestic T20 tournament was played at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium. Baroda, who gave a spirited fight, had to settle for the second position. Punjab posted a mammoth 223/4 in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy of Anmolpreet Singh's blistering 113 off 61 balls and Nehal Wadhera's quick-fire 61 off 27 balls.
In reply, Baroda was restricted to 203 for 7, thanks largely to left-arm pacer Arshdeep (4/23), who picked up three wickets in the decisive 19th over to seal the game in his team's favour.
Punjab struck nine sixes and three fours off the last 21 balls and racked up 143 runs in the back 10, which proved to be the deciding factor in the end, besides Arshdeep's exploits. Punjab opted to bat first and the four-time finalists found their man in Anmolpreet, who raced to his hundred in only 58 balls.
Baroda's Soyeb Sopariya dismissed in-form opener Abhishek Sharma in the very first ball of the match, who was caught at extra cover by Jyotsnil Singh. Punjab was reeling at 18 for two when Prabhsimran Singh fell to Atit Sheth. A partnership ensued between Anmolpreet and skipper Mandeep Singh, who moved to a 23-ball 32 with a flurry of boundaries before his Baroda counterpart Krunal Pandya cut short his stay on the crease.
Mandeep's departure at 80 for 3 brought together Anmolpreet and Wadhera, and the duo went about rebuilding the Punjab innings. Both Anmolpreet and Wadhera started finding fours and sixes with consummate ease and put the pressure back on the Baroda attack that kept Punjab to 80 in the first 10 overs. Runs came in thick and fast in the back 10 as Punjab posted a challenging total.
Seasoned pacer Siddarth Kaul raised Punjab's hopes further when he dismissed Jyotsnil Singh cheaply in the second over of Baroda innings. Ninad Rathva struck a breezy 47 off 22 balls and was involved in a second-wicket stand of 71 runs with Abhimanyusingh Rajput (61 off 42 balls). Mayank Markande broke the stand when he had Rathva stumped after the ball skidded off the pitch without any turn.
Another fruitful partnership followed as Rajput and Krunal Pandya added 88 runs for the third wicket, but by the time the former was dismissed by Arshdeep at 164 for 3 in the 17th over, the asking rate had climbed too much for Baroda to mount a comeback. Krunal continued to take on the bowlers and found an able ally in Vishnu Solanki, who started dealing in boundaries without wasting any time.
Baroda lost Krunal, Shivalik Sharma and Bhanu Pania to Arshdeep, who bowled an excellent penultimate over and that over sealed the game for Punjab.
This was the fifth final for both Baroda and Punjab, the most for any team in the tournament. The two teams had met in the 2011-12 final when Baroda beat Punjab for the first of their two titles.
Brief Scores: Punjab 223 for 4 in 20 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 113, Nehal Wadhera 61 not out; Krunal Pandya 1/30) beat Baroda 203 for 7 in 20 overs (Abhimanyusingh Rajput 61, Ninad Rathva 47, Krunal Pandya 45; Arshdeep Singh 4/23) by 20 runs.
Read more
Virat Kohli says keeping emotions in control an important part of his game
