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KOLKATA: Shreyas Iyer must have felt a little uncomfortable picking up the bat when he made his half-century on a near blank Gardens of Eden. On Thursday, the Kolkata Knight Riders captain was in a different color and roll at his IPL home ground. But that didn’t stop him from giving his best as his breezy 73 off 44 balls helped Mumbai beat Vidarbha by five wickets and make their first Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy final.
On Saturday, they face Himachal Pradesh, who also made the top clash in this tournament for the first time.
Vidarbha may have lost the plot as they passed 164 for seven after opting to bat first on a good wicket, which was not enough against a batting powerhouse like Mumbai. They did strike early by removing captain Ajinkya Rahane, but Prithvi Shaw made a solid start with his 21-ball 34-run innings.
Even Iyer, who capitalized on that start, acknowledged Shaw’s contribution.
“Prithvi gave us the start that shifted the momentum in our favour,” he said while describing his own knock as “personally a satisfying innings”.
Mumbai left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who destroyed Vidarbha in the league stage, once again did well, picking up three for 20 while Shivam Dube bagged two for 15. Mumbai reached the target by losing five wickets.
HP beat Punjab to enter final
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh continued their good run and upset Punjab by 13 runs in the first semi-final of the day. Put in to bat, Himachal had Sumeet Verma and Akash Vasisth to thank, whose 46-run fourth-wicket stand took them to a strong 176 for seven after being reduced to 51 for three by the ninth over.
Verma hit Mayank Markande for 4, 6, 6 and then followed it up with a six and a four from Harpreet Brar to finish with 25-ball 51. Opener Shubhman Gill provided the right start but once the youngster departed for 45 (32b) , 7×4, 1×6), the Punjab middle order could not sustain that momentum.
The experienced Rishi Dhawan, who returned with three for 25 from his four overs, struck at crucial intervals to pile pressure on Punjab.
Short scores
Himachal Pradesh 176/7 in 20 overs (Sumeet Verma 51, Akash Vasisht 43; Abhishek Sharma 2-20, Sanvir Singh 2-17) vs Punjab 163/7 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 45, Dhawan 3 Rishi* 29; -25 , Mayank Dagar 2-27) HP won by 13 runs.
Vidarbha 164/7 in 20 br. (Jitesh Sharma 46*; Shams Mulani 3-20) Vs. Mumbai 169/5 in 16.5 br. (Shreyas Iyer 73; Akshay Karnewar 2-24). Mumbai win by 5 wks.
On Saturday, they face Himachal Pradesh, who also made the top clash in this tournament for the first time.
Vidarbha may have lost the plot as they passed 164 for seven after opting to bat first on a good wicket, which was not enough against a batting powerhouse like Mumbai. They did strike early by removing captain Ajinkya Rahane, but Prithvi Shaw made a solid start with his 21-ball 34-run innings.
Even Iyer, who capitalized on that start, acknowledged Shaw’s contribution.
“Prithvi gave us the start that shifted the momentum in our favour,” he said while describing his own knock as “personally a satisfying innings”.
Mumbai left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who destroyed Vidarbha in the league stage, once again did well, picking up three for 20 while Shivam Dube bagged two for 15. Mumbai reached the target by losing five wickets.
HP beat Punjab to enter final
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh continued their good run and upset Punjab by 13 runs in the first semi-final of the day. Put in to bat, Himachal had Sumeet Verma and Akash Vasisth to thank, whose 46-run fourth-wicket stand took them to a strong 176 for seven after being reduced to 51 for three by the ninth over.
Verma hit Mayank Markande for 4, 6, 6 and then followed it up with a six and a four from Harpreet Brar to finish with 25-ball 51. Opener Shubhman Gill provided the right start but once the youngster departed for 45 (32b) , 7×4, 1×6), the Punjab middle order could not sustain that momentum.
The experienced Rishi Dhawan, who returned with three for 25 from his four overs, struck at crucial intervals to pile pressure on Punjab.
Short scores
Himachal Pradesh 176/7 in 20 overs (Sumeet Verma 51, Akash Vasisht 43; Abhishek Sharma 2-20, Sanvir Singh 2-17) vs Punjab 163/7 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 45, Dhawan 3 Rishi* 29; -25 , Mayank Dagar 2-27) HP won by 13 runs.
Vidarbha 164/7 in 20 br. (Jitesh Sharma 46*; Shams Mulani 3-20) Vs. Mumbai 169/5 in 16.5 br. (Shreyas Iyer 73; Akshay Karnewar 2-24). Mumbai win by 5 wks.
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