Bengaluru: Baroda walked through a wall of fire in the group stage to qualify for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy knockouts, and that grit will be their primary weapon against an explosive Mumbai in their semifinal contest here on Friday.
Baroda (NRR: 2.35), Saurashtra (2.26) and Gujarat (1.93) had 24 points each in Group B before a better Net Run Rate propelled the top two teams into the quarterfinals.
In a way, it was fate’s way of rewarding Baroda’s sheer will to negate clutch situations and ability to find multiple heroes in, arguably, the toughest group in this edition of the SMAT.
They have high-velocity T20 performers in Hardik and Krunal Pandya, still none of the Baroda players feature in the top-10 list in batting or bowling.
Pacer Atit Sheth has taken 13 wickets but he is on 11th slot while newcomer Bhanu Pania is Baroda’s top run-getter with 271 runs but he is in 18th place on the batsmen’s list.
The quarterfinal win over Bengal validated their collective fire power.
Young openers Shashwat Rawat and Abhimanyu Rajput led their batting before pacers Hardik, Sheth and Lukman Meriwala, another underrated domestic performer, joined forces to skittle a capable Bengal line-up for a smooth win.
But Hardik played no insignificant role in Baroda’s run thus far. He might be playing here after the BCCI made it mandatory for frontline stars to make themselves available for domestic events when they are not on national duty.
However, Hardik has not shown any laxity and Meriwala accepted the value the all-rounder brings in along with his sibling in Baroda’s quest to add a third SMAT title and the first since the 2013-14 season.
“Yes, he brought a lot of difference to our team. Hardik and Krunal are batting in the middle-order, and they can exploit a good start given by our (top-order) batsmen. Hardik and Krunal also bowl. So it’s good support for the team,” he said.
Mumbai, the 2022 champions, were largely untested in Group E and their first real test came against Vidarbha in the last eight match on Wednesday.
Their batters led by Ajinkya Rahane carried the team past a 200-plus target with minimum fuss, but even in that victory Mumbai would not have missed the profligate ways of their bowlers.
Experienced Shardul Thakur and Mohit Avasthi have taken 12 wickets apiece but leaked more than 10 runs an over, and they need a much more restrained effort against Baroda.
While all-rounders Suryansh Shedge and Tanush Kotian added more depth to their line-up, Mumbai will certainly welcome more consistency from under-scanner opener Prithvi Shaw.
Delhi hold slight edge over MP
Both the sides have veterans and experienced young names, but Delhi under Ayush Badoni have shown a steel and all-round stability, hence a marginal upper hand over Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh will rely on spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh, the second highest wicket-taker in this tournament with 15 scalps, to stop an in-form Delhi top-order led by Priyansh Arya and Yash Dhull. MP’s batting will depend on RCB star Rajat Patidar.
Semifinal 1: Baroda vs Mumbai, 11 am.
Semifinal 1: MP vs Delhi, 4.30 pm.
