Published: Feb 21, 2019, 05:05 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 21, 2019, 05:05 PM (IST)
Axar Patel’s 37-ball 48 saved Gujarat the blushes, before Piyush Chawla’s 3/17 helped Gujarat register a 13-run win over Meghalaya in Round 1 of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 Group B match at Lalabhai Contractor Stadium, Surat on Thursday.
After being put into bat Gujarat were tottering at 30/3 before Patel walked in to bat to steady the innings. Skipper Priyank Panchal was the first to go taken by Abhay Negi in the first over. One down Urvil Patel made 21 before Negi scalped him, followed by the wicket of Chirag Gandhi for one.
Patel and opener Dhruv Raval (20) added 38 runs for the fourth wicket before Raval was run out by Swarajeet Das. Gurinder Singh then then picked up two quick wickets in Hemang Patel (5) and Hiten Mehra (2) to leave Gujarat reeling at 82/6. Patel took Gujarat’s total past the 100-run mark before falling to Ishwar Chowdhary.
Piyush Chawla remained unbeaten on 20 off 20 as Gujarat posted 146/8 in their 20 overs. For Meghalaya, Negi claimed 3/30 in his four overs while Gurinder picked 2/10 in his four.
In reply, Meghalaya rode on outstation player Punit Bisht’s 34-ball 56 and Swarajeet Das’ 23, but the middle-order failed to capitalise on the good start. From 76/2 in 11.4 overs, Meghalaya slumped to 124/8 in 18.3 overs, losing five wickets for 48 runs in 41 balls.
Negi made 18 down the order as Chawla removed Das, outstation player Yogesh Nagar (2) and Jason Lamare (7). Pacer Tejas Patel claimed 2/27 in his four overs.
Brief Scores: Gujarat 146/8 (Axar Patel 48; Abhay Negi 3/30) beat Punit Bisht 133/8 (Punit Bisht 56; Piyush Chawla 3/17) by 13 runs
