Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 Wrap: Ishant Sharma Impresses, Shikhar Dhawan Flops

For Andhra, Ashwin Hebber, who walked in at number five (32) was the top scorer as their entire top-order including skipper Ambati Rayadu (1), stumper K S Bharat (8) and Ricky Bhuvi (0) struggled.

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Andhra were reeling at 36 for four at one stage. Their innings never got going as Delhi made regular inroads. India speedster Ishant Sharma (2/17), right-arm pacer Simarjeet Singh (2/21) and off-spinner Lalit Yadav (2/22) played their roles to perfection.

For Delhi, the chase wasn’t exactly a walk in the park as they were reduced to 10 for two. But Nitish Rana (27) and Anuj Rawat (33) shared 52-runs for the third wicket to bring them back into the game.

After the two departed, Himmat Singh (32 not out) and Lalit Yadav (20 not out) ensured that there were no further hiccups as they forged an unbeaten 40-run fifth wicket stand to take their side home.

Delhi had defeated Mumbai in their opening game.

Saurashtra beat Vidarbha

Opener Avi Barot and Prerak Mankad struck half centuries before Chetan Sakariya claimed a five-wicket haul as Saurashtra recorded a comfortable 79-run win over Vidarbha in a Group ‘D’ match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament, here on Wednesday.

Opting to bat, Saurashtra rode on Barot (93 off 44) and Mankad’s (59 off 26 balls) innings to post a mammoth 233 for seven.

The pace duo of Chetan Sakariya (5/11) and Mankad (4/48) then wreaked havoc with the ball as Vidarbha were bundled out for 154 in 17.2 overs.

Barot, who was unlucky to miss out on a well-deserved century, hit 13 fours and four sixes while Mankad’s innings was laced with six boundaries and four maximums.

For Vidarbha, medium pacer Darshan Nalkande (4/32) was the pick of the bowlers while Yash Thakur (2/47) claimed a two wickets.

In the chase, Vidarbha was off to a bright start with opener Jitesh Sharma scoring a 27-ball 43.

However, no other batsman could up fight against Sakariya and Mankad, who kept striking at regular intervals. Three Vidarbha players returning to the pavilion without opening their account.

Punit Bist Makes 51-Ball 146

A blistering 51-ball 146 by captain Punit Bist, which included six fours and 17 sixes, powered Meghalaya to a massive 130-run win over Mizoram in a Plate group match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament here on Wednesday.

Opting to bat, Meghalaya saw opener DB Ravi Teja (7) fall in the third over after adding 27 runs with Yogesh Tiwari (53, 47 balls, 6X4, 2X6). Dippu Sangma fell one run later after which it was a Bist show as he simply toyed with the Mizoram bowling.

Bist, who previously played for Delhi, belted the ball all round the Guru Nanak College ground and reached his half-century in 26 balls. He went on the overdrive and hammered 94 runs in the next 25 balls he faced as sixes flew all over the ground and Meghalaya piled up 230 for 6 in 20 overs.

The wicketkeeper-batsman added 120 runs in a little over 10 overs for the third wicket with Tiwari.

The Mizoram batsmen never got going in a massive run chase and only three batsmen reached double figures as they managed to crawl to 100 for 9 in 20 overs.

In other matches, Bihar beat thrashed Sikkim by eight wicket for its second straight win while Chandigarh and Nagaland recorded victories.

Bihar is on top of the Plate ground standings with 8 points from two matches followed by Chandigarh and Nagaland with six apiece.

Brief Scores:

Andhra Pradesh 124/9 (Ashwin Hebbar 32; Pradeep Sangwan 3/33, Ishant Sharma 2/17, Simarjeet Singh 2/21) lost to Delhi 128/4 (Anuj Rawat 33; Himmat Singh 32 not out; M Harishankar Reddy 2/40) by six wickets.

Pondicherry 148/4 (Shedlon Jackson 82, Paras Dogra 32; Arun Chaprana 2/19) lost to Haryana 149/4 (Himanshu Rana 58, Shivam Chauhan 45; PankaJ Singh 2/31) by 6 wickets.

Meghalaya 230 for 6 in 20 overs (Punit Bist 146 not out, Yogesh Tiwari 53) beat Mizoram 100 for 9 in 20 overs (KB Pawan 33, Pratik Desai 27, Aditya Singhania 4/15) by 130 runs. Meghalaya: 4 points, Mizoram: 0.

Arunachal Pradesh 145 for 7 in 20 overs (Techi Doria 36, Rahul Dalal 31, Akilesh Sahani 31) lost to Nagaland 147 for 1 in 15.5 overs (Shrikant Mundhe 69 not out, Chetan Bist 50 not out) by nine wickets. Nagaland: 4 points, Arunachal Pradesh: 0.

Sikkim 110 for 8 in 20 overs (Varun Sood 28, Ashutosh Aman 4/18) lost to Bihar 111 for 2 in 19.1 overs (Mangal Mahrour 55, Shasheem Rathour 38) by eight wickets. Bihar: 4 points, Sikkim: 0.

Chandigarh 178 for 5 in 20 overs (Shivam Bhambri 56, Manan Vohra 39, AK Kaushik 36) beat Manipur 66 for 8 in 20 overs (Gurinder Singh 3/10, Bipul Sharma 2/8) by 112 runs. Chandigarh: 4 points, Manipur: 0.

Saurashtra 233/7 in 20 overs (Avi Barot 93, Prerak Manka 59; Darshan Nalkande 4/32) defeated Vidarbha 154 all out in 17.2 overs (Jitesh Sharma 43, Siddhesh Wath 21; Chetan Sakariya 5/11)

Services 160/7 in 20 overs (Ravi Chauhan 62,G Rahul Singh 37; Lakshay Garg 2/25 lost to Goa 163/5 in 19.4 overs (Aditya Kaushik 78; Amit Verma 42; Mohit Kumar 3/32)