Agency
new delhi, Dec 3
Less than a week after smashing the fastest T20 century by an Indian, off just 28 balls, Gujarat’s Urvil Patel blitzed an unbeaten 115 off just 41 balls in an eight-wicket win over Uttarakhand in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game in Indore. This vaulted Gujarat to the top spot in Group C with five wins in six matches, with one league fixture still remaining.
Urvil got to his century on Tuesday off just 38 balls – his second consecutive T20 hundred – as Gujarat made light work of Uttarakhand’s total of 182, getting there with 41 balls to spare. Urvil hit eight fours and 11 sixes in his innings. Along the way, he overtook Hardik Pandya to be the tournament’s highest six-hitter (25) at this stage. Red-hot Saurashtra flex batting muscle again
Hot on Gujarat’s heels are Saurashtra, who have joined them on 20 points in Group C. Saurashtra followed their 266 for 6 against Baroda with 235 for 5 in their 59-run win over Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, courtesy three half-centuries: Harvik Desai’s 55, Ruchit Ahir’s 56 and Sammar Gajjar’s 55 not out.
Ahir was particularly impressive, hitting his second straight T20 half-century in just his third game. Desai, too, carried on from where he left off against Baroda (where he made a 39-ball 76). Tamil Nadu were at no stage up to challenging the target as they finished 64 short with Chirag Jani and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja among the wickets.
It was a fourth defeat in six games for Tamil Nadu, who won the championship in successive seasons, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Dube returns in style; Shardul redeems himself
Mumbai gave their knockout aspirations a fillip as they secured a comfortable 39-run win over Services in Group C. Their win was fuelled by key contributions from Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur. Dube, who has been out of action for the past three months following a back injury, made an impact upon his return straightaway. He top-scored with a 37-ball 71 that was the cornerstone to Mumbai’s 192 for 4. Dube put on 130 for the fourth wicket with Suryakumar, who made 70 off 46.
Prithvi Shaw, who has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons for a while now, made a three-ball duck.
But there was redemption for Thakur, another Mumbai player – like Shaw – who went unsold at the latest IPL auction. A week after returning the most expensive figures in SMA Trophy history, Thakur finished with an impressive 4 for 25 off his four overs to help Mumbai defend their total.
Karnataka knocked out despite Shreyas hat-trick
Shreyas Gopal’s hat-trick wasn’t enough to help secure a victory for Karnataka in a must-win game against Baroda.
Shreyas, who finished with 4 for 19, accounted for Bhanua Punia, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya (both for first-ball ducks) as Baroda slumped from 102 for 1 to 102 for 4 in the 11th over in response to Karnataka’s 169 for 8.
But the good work done by Shashwat Rawat up top (69 off 37) and Vishnu Solanki (28 not out in 21 balls) lower down helped Baroda win by four wickets with seven balls to spare. The win left Baroda on five wins from six games and level on points with Gujarat and Saurashtra, while Karnataka have been knocked out of contention.
Andhra dent Kerala’s knockout hopes
Kerala’s hopes received a massive dent as they suffered a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Andhra to round off their league fixtures. Andhra are now top of Group E with five wins in as many matches, while Kerala finish with four wins in six matches. To progress to the knockouts, Kerala must hope Andhra beat Mumbai in their final league fixture.
Andhra’s win was set up by their bowlers, who made use of the early morning conditions in Indore to skittle Kerala for 87. Fast bowler KV Sasikanth was the pick of the lot, with 3 for 23. Andhra’s chase was set up by KS Bharat, who hit a second straight half-century. He remained unbeaten on 56 in 33 balls.
