Baroda posted a competitive total of 144 for seven against Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. Once again it was the openers Aditya Waghmode and Kedar Devdhar who set up the innings which the batsmen to follow failed to capitalise on.
Having played their West Zone as well as the Super League of the tournament in Mumbai, Baroda had a good understanding of the nature of wicket. Despite the loss of key players, Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan, Baroda had a settled unit which escaped through to the final on net run rate.
After being put in to bat by UP, it was skipper Waghmode who once again gave a brisk start along with Kedar Devdhar. UP’s key bowler Praveen Kumar was erratic in the first over conceding 11 which included two boundaries and a leg bye. Waghmode started off his scoring with a boundary punching back past the bowler. The openers picked the boundaries at regular intervals which forced the skipper Mukul Dagar to make frequent field changes and bring in the slower bowlers.
Waghmode’s neatly timed strokes helped Baroda complete their 50 in six overs. The openers were equally good with their running between the wickets and were starting to play the aggressive shots more often when Waghmode was caught brilliantly by Mukul Dagar off left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza’s bowling. Waghmode’s stroke-filled 42 from 31 balls saw eight boundaries. Within quick time even Devdhar departed hitting straight to Dagar again off Prashant’s Gupta’s bowling for 26.
Baroda threw the momentum away when their No 3 batsman Shatrunjay Gaikwad went for a needless single playing close to the wicket and keeper Eklavya Dwiwedi completed an easy run-out. The run-flow slowed down expectedly as Hardik Pandya and Abhijit Karambelkar looked to find the gaps and keep the score ticking. At 107 for three after 15 overs, the batsmen were set to break loose. All-rounder Hardik in particular has been a vital cog in Baroda’s middle order.
Abhijit was out trying to up the ante, caught at deep backward square-leg off Murtaza’s bowling for nine. Baroda ran in to another block in the slog overs with Hardik out for run-a-ball 22 dismissed by Praveen Kumar.
Since the dismissal of the openers, Baroda hardly managed to impose their authority in the match and allowed the confidence of the UP bowlers to claw back. Disciplined bowling at the end kept Baroda at bay. Murtaza and Praveen were pick of the bowlers with two wickets each.
Brief scores:
Baroda 144 for 7 in 20 overs (Aditya Waghmode 42, Kedar Devdhar 26, Hardik Pandya 22; Ali Murtaza 2 for 22, Praveen Kumar 2 for 24) vs Uttar Pradesh.
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