Vadodara, January 18: Unbeaten Baroda qualified for the knockout stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as they finished on top in Group C following a 12-run win over Gujarat, here on Monday. Baroda had come into the final Elite Group C match, after winning their first four games.

Put into bat at the F B Colony ground here, Baroda rode on an unbeaten 59 by Vishnu Solanki and a whirlwind 17-ball 34 by Abhimanyusingh Rajput to post a competitive 176 for four and then restricted Gujarat to 164/9 to eke out a win.

Baroda openers, skipper Kedar Devdhar (26) and Smit Patel (34) could not convert their start into big scores as Gujarat bowlers led by captain and left-arm bowler Axar Patel (2/13) kept making inroads.

It was Solanki, who took the onus on himself and played a matured knock.

Solanki, who hammered eight fours and a lone six, finally found an able ally in Rajput, who hit three fours and two sixes, as the two forged a valuable 50-run stand for the fourth wicket. Is Tamil Nadu vs Bengal, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, Live Streaming Online and Live Telecast Available on Disney+Hotstar and Star Sports TV Channel?.

Gujarat, could not capitalise on the decent start given by their openers Dhruv Raval (41) and Priyesh Patel (17) as the duo added 60-runs for the first wicket.

Skipper Patel (36), who came one-down, number five Chirag Gandhi (25) and number six Ripal Patel (29) raised the hopes of a win but in the end it was Baroda bowlers who had the last laugh.

After Ripal Patel was dismissed, it was all over for Gujarat. For Baroda, left-arm spinner Ninad Rathwa (3/4) was the pick of the bowlers and was ably supported by another slow-left arm bowler Bhargav Bhatt (2/28).

Brief Scores:

At F B Colony Ground: Baroda 176/4 (Vishnu Solanki 59 not out, Abhimanyusingh Rajput 34; Axar Patel 2/13, Roosh Kalaria 1/35) won against Gujarat 164/9 (Dhruv Raval 41, Axar Patel 36, Ninad Rathwa 3/4, Bhargav Bhatt 2/28) by 12 runs.

At Motibaug ground: Maharashtra 117/9 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 33, Azim Kazi 17; Rishi Dhawan 3/22, Pankaj Jaiswal 2/18) lost to Himachal Pradesh 121/6 (Rishi Dhawan 61 not out, Ayush Jamwal 27 not out; Azim Kazi 2/10, Pradeep Dadhe 2/24) by four wickets.

At Reliance ground: Uttarakhand 167/8 (Jay Bista 92, Kunal Chandela 25; Sourabh Majumdar 3/35) and 3/0 lost to Chhattisgarh 167/9 (Vishal Singh 37, Ajay Mandal 29; A Madhwal 2/17) and 15/1 – via Super Over.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)