A stunning unbeaten 46-ball 71 from Vishnu Solanki (4x4, 5x6) helped Baroda snatch victory off the final delivery against Haryana in the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Wednesday.
Needing 15 off the last three balls and five off one, Solanki pulled out the helicopter shot to flick Sumit Kumar down the ground for six.
Solanki, who came in with Baroda 33 for one, added 68 with captain Kedar Devdhar (43, 40b, 2x4, 2x6) in a chase of 149.
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The two did not take undue risks against Haryana's trump card Yuzvendra Chahal (one for 15 off four overs), but targeted the other spinners, Jayant Yadav and Rahul Tewatia.
Devdhar got stuck into Tewatia, collecting 12 off an over while Solanki scored 13 off Jayant.
Baroda was threatening to take the game away from Haryana when Sumit prised out Devdhar for 43. The asking rate started to climb after a few tight overs at the death, but Solanki had the final say.
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Earlier, Haryana, asked to bat, lost openers Chaitanya Bishnoi and Guntashveer Singh within the first five overs. A third-wicket stand of 80 between Shivam Chauhan (35, 29b, 3x4, 1x6) and Himanshu Rana (49, 40b, 7x4) saw Haryana reach a promising 105 for two.
However, once Chauhan and Rana were dismissed in successive overs, Haryana lost the momentum and finished at 148 for seven, a total it nearly defended.
On the rampage
In the other quarterfinal, Rajasthan rode on Mahipal Lomror’s unbeaten 78 (37b, 5x4, 5x6) and contributions from Bharat Sharma (38) and Ankit Lamba (38) to score 164 for five against Bihar. The latter fell short by 16 runs despite Mangal Mahrour’s best efforts. He remained unbeaten on 68.
The scores: Haryana 148/7 in 20 overs (Himanshu Rana 49, Shivam Chauhan 35) lost to Baroda 150/2 in 20 overs (Kedar Devdhar 43, Vishnu Solanki 71 n.o.).
Rajasthan 164/5 in 20 overs (Bharat Sharma 38, Ankit Lamba 38, Mahipal Lomror 78 n.o.) bt Bihar 148/4 in 20 overs (Mangal Mahrour 68 n.o.).
The semifinal line-up: January 29: Tamil Nadu vs. Rajasthan, noon; Punjab vs. Baroda, 7 p.m .