Published: Apr 03, 2014, 11:47 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 03, 2014, 07:54 PM (IST)
Apr 3, 2014
A quickfire half-century from Yusuf Pathan helped Baroda post a healthy total of 142 for seven against Saurashtra in the West Zone Qualifiers of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Pathan smashed four sixes and three boundaries in his innings of 54 from 28 balls. It’s a must-win match for Saurashtra and a win for Baroda will seal their place in the super league of the tournament.
The West Zone Qualifiers of Mushtaq Ali T20 have hardly seen big scores with teams struggling on testing tracks. While the pitch at Wankhede is known for its assistance to bowlers, the second venue at Bandra-Kurla Complex is no different. Saurashtra had restricted Mumbai for most part of the innings on Tuesday and they opted to bowl once again on Thursday.
Baroda were off to a cautious start with Kedar Devdhar dismissed for a 10-ball two. Apart from a disciplined pace bowling, it was the left-arm spinners Dharmendra Jadeja and Aarpit Vasavda keeping a check on the run flow as well. Vice Captain Aditya Waghmode scored 22 from 25 before being dismissed. At 50 for two in 10 overs, Baroda clearly needed someone to accelerate. After scripting a victory over Gujarat with his all-round performance, Hardik Pandya failed to fire. That brought the explosive Yusuf Pathan to the crease. Though the boundaries didn’t flow immediately, it did help in improving the frequency of singles being converted in to two.
Pathan took on the left-arm spinner Vasavda smashing him for two consecutive sixes with first slapped over mid-wicket followed by a gigantic six over long-on. The replacement of the ball didn’t make any difference as he hammered two more boundaries. Rakesh Solanki anchored from the other end and was eventually out for a 32-ball 29.
Baroda would’ve expected the Pathan brothers to power them in the final overs but Irfan was bowled for a golden duck. Yusuf hung around and anchored the team to a par score in comparison to the totals teams have posted in the West Zone matches so far.
