New Delhi: Delhi on Thursday defeated three time champions Uttar Pradesh to enter the finals of Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Rajasthan although choked in their paltry chase of 130 and lost their match against Punjab but still managed to sneak into the final on better net run-rate. This means that the domestic competition will now have a new champion this season as both Delhi and Rajasthan have made their maiden final of the tournament.
In Group B match, Delhi were asked to bat first after Uttar Pradesh won the toss. Rishabh Pant once again fired with the bat, scoring his fourth half-century of the tournament. Pant 34-ball 58 which included 5 fours and 3 sixes guided Delhi to 140 for 9 after 20 overs. For Uttar Pradesh, in-form Suresh Raina failed with the bat getting out to Subodh Bhati on 16. In the final over, Delhi maintained their composure under pressure and won the match by 3 runs.
In the second 'virtual' semifinal Punjab defeated Rajasthan by 5 runs but lost their birth to the finals on count of better net run-rate. The star studded Punjab line-up had to make big runs to secure the final’s spot but could only muster 129 for 9 in 20 overs. However, brilliant death bowling by Punjab restricted Rajasthan to 124/8 but to secure the place in the finals they were supposed to keep Rajasthan under 106.
The final match between Delhi and Rajasthan is slated at Eden Gardens under lights on Friday.
Brief Scores:
At Jadavpur University Second Campus ground, Salt Lake: Delhi 140/9 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 58, Milind Kumar 32; Israr Azim 2/12, Mohsin Khan 2/29, Ankit Rajpoot 2/33) beat Uttar Pradesh 137 in 20 overs (Rinku Singh 34, Saurabh Kumar 33; Pawan Negi 2/13, Subodh Bhati 2/28) by three runs.
At Eden Gardens: Punjab 129/9; 20 overs (Harbhajan Singh 32, Sharad Lumba 31; Khaleel Ahmed 3/17, Deepak Chahar 2/9, Rahul Chahar 2/19) beat Rajasthan 124/8; 20 overs (Ankit Lamba 47; Barinder Sran 3/22, Manpreet Gony 2/20) by five runs.