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Anmolpreet Singh's belligerent 113, Nehal Wadhera's quickfire 61 and Arshdeep Singh's four-wicket haul helped Punjab beat Baroda by 20 runs in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023 being played at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium.
Put into bat Punjab got off to a poor start losing opener Abhishek Sharma of the very first ball of the match as medium pacer Soyeb Sopariya dismissed him. Anmolpreet Singh walked out to bat with wicket-keeper batter Prabhsimran Singh. Their partnership did not last too long as medium pace all-rounder Atit Sheth dismissed him caught behind by wicket-keeper Vishnu Solanki for 9 as Punjab was in a spot of bother at 18/2 in 3.2 overs. Captain Mandeep Singh joined Anmolpreet and the duo helped Punjab go past the 50-run mark in 7.1 overs. The Anmolpreet-Mandeep struck a fifty-run partnership in 36 balls for the third wicket. The 62-run partnership was finally broken as Krunal Pandya dismissed Punjab captain Mandeep for 32 from 23 balls. Nehal Wadhera then walked out to bat with Anmolpreet and they both tore Baroda's bowling apart. Anmolpreet Singh scored his half-century from 36 balls. Punjab went past the triple-figure mark in 12 overs. Anmolpreet-Wadhera pair notched up a fifty-run partnership in 25 balls. The Punjab team crossed the 150-run mark in 16.4 overs. The duo too notched up a century partnership in 47 balls. Anmolpreet Singh scored his century in just 58 balls hitting 10 fours and four sixes taking Punjab's total beyond the 200-run mark in 19 overs. Wadhera too went on to score his half-century in just 23 balls. Anmolpreet Singh was run out for 113 from 61 balls hitting 10 boundaries and six maximums at a strike rate of 185.24. Nehal Wadhera went on to score his half-century in just 23 balls and he ended up scoring 61 from 27 balls hitting six fours and four sixes. Punjab went on to score a mammoth 223/4 in 20 overs. Chasing a massive 224 to win, Baroda fought hard with Abhimanyusingh Rajput top scoring for them scoring 42-ball 61. Opener Ninad Rathva scored a quickfire 47 from 22 balls and gave visitors a flying start despite losing his opening partner Jyotsnil Singh early. Abhimanyusingh Rajput alongwith his captain Krunal Pandya struck a partnership of 88 runs for the third wicket. Krunal scored 45 off 32 balls. Ninad Rathva (47 off 22), Abhimanyusingh Rajput (61 off 42) and skipper Krunal Pandya (45 off 32) played gutsy knocks but unfortunately for them, it didn't turn out to be enough as they fell short in the end. Baroda needed 33 runs to win off the last 2 overs. But Arshdeep Singh pulled the game in Punjab's favour. The left-arm pacer dismissed Abhimanyusingh Rajput, Krunal, Shivalik Sharma and Bhanu Pania to break Baroda's rhythm and help Punjab register a 20-run win in the final to clinch the coveted Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time. Brief scores: Punjab 223/4 in 20 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 113, Nehal Wadhera 61*; Krunal Pandya 1/30) vs Baroda 203/7 in 20 overs (Abhimanyusingh Rajput 61, Ninad Rathva 47; Arshdeep Singh 4/23). (ANI)
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