BHUBANESWAR: If the ongoing Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament is an ideal platform for lesser-known players to showcase their prowess, Punjab opening batsman Jaskarnveer Singh grabbed it in style, smashing an unbeaten century and powering his team to a thrilling five-run win over Mumbai in their rain-curtailed Group B match at DRIEMS Stadium in Tangi (Cuttack) on Thursday.
The 21-year-old’s unbeaten 114 (69b, 12x4, 5x6), his maiden T20 ton, helped Punjab muster a healthy total of 173 for six after they elected to bat. In association with Manan Vohra, Jaskarnveer gave Punjab a sound start, putting on 59 runs for the opening wicket. Though wickets fell in regular intervals thereafter, he not only stood like a wall at one end but also played an array of sizzling shots to all parts of the ground.
Chasing a daunting target, Mumbai were 16 for one in two overs when rain stopped play. The situation became more difficult for them as they were set with a revised target of 82 in eight overs via VJD Method. Compounding their plight, the first two wickets fell with only 18 runs on the board. Though Jay Bista kept Mumbai’s victory bid alive with a 23-ball 47, his dismissal in the final over saw them getting restricted to 76 for three.
This was the second straight defeat for Mumbai, who had lost their opening game to host Odisha earlier on Wednesday. On the other hand, Punjab moved up to the top of the Group B table with back-to-back wins.
Setback for Odisha
After a winning start, hosts Odisha suffered an upset as they went down fighting to Rajasthan by six wickets in another Group B match at DRIEMS Stadium earlier in the day. Ankit Lamba was the main architect of the Rajasthan win, hitting an unbeaten 67 (49b, 3x4, 5x6).
Chasing a challenging target of 163, Central Zone runners-up Rajasthan rode on an 87-run partnership for the third wicket between Lamba and Ashok Menaria to romp home with two balls to spare.
Earlier, put into bat, East Zone league toppers Odisha piled up 162 for seven, thanks to a 44-ball 61 (7x4, 1x6) by Govind Podder and cameo unbeaten 28 by Suryakant Pradha, who sent half of the eight balls he faced flying over the fence.
2nd Win for Gujarat
Displaying clinical performance in all departments of the game, Gujarat crushed Himachal Pradesh by six wickets in their Group A match here at KIIT Cricket Ground and lead the table with back-to-back wins on Thursday.
The highlight of the match was a four-wicket haul by Gujarat medium-pacer Rohit Dahiya. Batting first, Himachal rode on Prashant Chopra’s 28-ball 40 to make a modest total of 124. Jasprit Bumrah was another successful bowler for Gujarat, picking up three wickets. In reply, Gujarat overhauled the target comfortably with all six of their batsmen making decent contributions.
Kaushal Show in Vain
A fine all-round performance by Kaushal Singh went in vain as Jharkhand suffered their second straight defeat, losing to Central Zone league toppers Madhya Pradesh by nine runs in another Group A match at KIIT Ground earlier in the day.
Kaushal, the 18-year-old Ranchi lad, took two wickets in MP’s competitive total of 153 for six and then hit an unbeaten 50 (28b, 5x4, 3x6). But his maiden T20 half-century did not prove enough for Jharkhand, who could make 144 for seven in the stipulated overs.
Brief scores: At DRIEMS Stadium: Odisha 162/7 in 20 ovs (Govind Podder 61, Suryakant Pradhan 28 no, Anurag Sarangi 21; Chandrapal Chunda 2-12, Manjeet Singh 2-36) lost to Rajasthan 166/4 in 19.4 ovs (Ankit Lamba 67 no, Ashok Menaria 42, Sourabh Chouhan 35; Deepak Behera 2-27) by 6 wkts. Punjab 173/6 in 20 ovs (Jaskaranveer Singh 114 no, Manan Vohra 21; Abhishek Raut 3-22) bt Mumbai 76/3 in 8 ovs (Jay Bista 47) by 5 runs via VJD method. At KIIT Cricket Ground: Madhya Pradesh 153/6 in 20 ovs (Harpreet Singh 31, Zafar Ali 29, Udit Birla 28, Jalaj Saxena 24; Kaushal Singh 2-26, Vikash Kumar 2-27, Prakash Seet 2-41) bt Jharkhand 144/7 in 20 ovs (Kaushal Singh 50 no; Harpreet Singh 2-22, Anurag Singh 2-32) by 9 runs. Himachal Pradesh 124 in 19.3 ovs (Prashant Chopra 40, Ankush Bains 31; Rohit Dahiya 4-31, Jasprit Bumrah 3-21, Rush Kalaria 2-17) lost to Gujarat 128/4 in 18.1 ovs (Priyank Panchal 35, Smit Patel 29, Jesal Karia 20 no; Akshay Chauhan 2-27) by 6 wkts.