In the first round of the Syed Muhstaq Ali T20 Super League, Gujarat opened their account with a convincing win against Delhi in Group B. In the Group A matches held in Baroda, Hardik Pandya’s whirlwind unbeaten 86 took Baroda to a comprehensive win against Vidarbha.
Here are the highlights of the day:
Group A Vidarbha vs Baroda: Vid 162/5 in 20 overs (G Satish 54, A Wankhede 40, SK Singh 2/41) lost to Baroda 168/4 in 19 overs (H Pandya 86*, R Jangid 2/36) 6 wickets
Hardik Pandya, who has been in a blistering form, cracked 86 off 46 balls to help Baroda to a thumping win. Coming in to bat at No 3, the all-rounder whipped the opposition to chase down the 163-run target with six balls to spare.
Earlier, While Irfan Pathan gave Baroda their first wicket by accounting for Faiz Fazal in the third over, G Satish and Apoorva Wankhede lifted Vidarbha to a respectable 162 for five after being asked to field by Baroda.
Gujarat vs Delhi: Delhi 170/5 in 20 overs (U Chand 103, RP singh 1/29) lost to Gujarat 171/2 in 17.4 overs (P Panchal 69, P Patel 42, M Juneja 38) by 8 wickets
Unmukt Chand's well compiled century went in vain as Delhi lost to Gujarat on Friday morning in Mumbai. The Delhi opener helped the team to a respectable total as he anchored the innings after being put in to bat by Gujarat. Chand, who has been in good nick in the ongoing season, shaped Delhi's innings and set them up for a formidable total but the team could not capitalise on the foundation. Jasprit Bumrah, conceded only seven runs off the last over.
Gujarat then scaled the 171 run target with ease after the openers got the team off to a good start with a 78-run partnership. Parthiv Patel (42 off 39) and Priyank Panchal (69* off 83) set the chase on course. After the captain departed, the young opener took the team to the target. He paced his innings carefully as he built partnerships with Manprit Juneja and Rujul Bhatt to ensure that Gujarat won their opening match. Sticking to the strategy that one of the batsmen had to be at the wicket till the end, Panchal kept his team in an advantageous position to eventually beat Delhi.
