Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 7: Riding on a patient half century by Smit Patel (50 n o, 49b, 3×4, 1×6), Gujarat won the their second Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy title by edging out Punjab by two wickets with one ball to spare in low scoring thriller at the KIIT Stadium here Tuesday.
Chasing a paltry target of 118, Gujarat were never at ease with wickets falling at regular intervals. Rujul Bhatt (23, 20b, 4×4) shared a 35-run stand with Patel for the third wicket and Jesal Karia (19, 17b, 2×4) also chipped in with an useful knock to provide some support to Patel who held his nerve and anchored the chase till the end. Siddarth Kaul (2/28) and Taruwar Kohli (2/20) bowled well for Punjab
Earlier, after being put into bat, Punjab huffed and puffed to a score of 117 for the loss nine wickets against some tight and incisive bowling by pacer Rohit Dahiya (4/15) and off-spinner Karia (2/28). Only opener Inder Singh (30, 41b, 2×4) and Himanshu Chawla (23, 17b, 1×4, 1×6) stuck around for some time to take the score past the 100-run mark, but in the end it was not sufficient.
Brief scores
Punjab 117 for nine (Inder Singh 30; Rohit Dahiya 4/15, Jesal Karia 2/28) lost to Gujarat 123 for eight (Smit Patel 50 n o; Siddarth Kaul 2/28, Taruwar Kohli 2/20) by two wickets.
