Gujarat won the opening match of the BCCI T20 League by 62 runs in Mumbai. After skipper Parthiv Patel and Venugopal Rao put Gujarat in a commanding position with an 80-run partnership, Jasprit Bumrah and Munaf Patel dealt early blows to push Maharashtra on the back foot. With three wickets between the pacers and a run out, Gujarat had reduced Maharashtra to 27 for four in the fifth over. They continued to strike at regular intervals to bowl Maharashtra out for 109 and claim victory in the West Zone clash.
Earlier, inserted to bat first, Parthiv got off to a good start. The Gujarat skipper struck Samad Fallah for three boundaries in the first over. Parthiv also whipped the other opening bowler, Shrikant Mundhe, through covers for four as he garnered runs at a quick pace. With Rajdeep Darbar, he took the opening partnership to 37. However, Darbar then lost his stumps to Dominic Muthuswami.
Rajul Bhatt, who then came to the crease, added 14 runs before Ankit Bawne knocked back his stumps. With the team on 65, Rao came to the crease. While he continued to milk the bowlers, Parthiv reverse swept Chirag Khurana for a six. Rao hit the first six off Khurana over the on side in the 13th over, and later in the over, he struck four through point to bring up the team’s 100. Parthiv brought up his 50 off 41 balls soon after.
Looking to increase the flow of runs further, Rao struck Akshay Darekar inside out over mid-off for six. While they picked 12 runs off Darekar, Rao helped add 15 more off Mundhe in the next. He was dropped on 36 in the 16th over and made the most of the chance by smashing a six soon after.
It was Parthiv’s turn to go for the big hits. He hit Darekar for six over long-on, but he was caught by Rahul Tripathi off the next ball and returned after making 70 off 53 balls.
Rao’s runfest was halted in the next over as Vijay Zol took a catch to send him back for 47 off 27 balls. With 13 balls left, Himalaya Barad joined Akshar Patel in the middle. But off the first ball of the penultimate over, he was caught by Tripathi at long-off off Fallah. Muthusawmi then claimed Akshar with two balls left, while Jesal Karia struck the bowler for six off the last ball to take the score to 171 for six.
Defending the total, Munaf Patel conceded only two runs off the first over. In the second over, Maharashtra lost three wickets and were reduced to three for three. Jasprit Bumrah disrupted Vijay Zol’s woodwork, while Harshad Khadiwale was run out off the next ball. The pacer then uprooted Tripathi’s leg-stump to reduce Maharashtra to three for three.
With the team backed in a corner, Ankit Bawne joined captain Kedar Jadhav. The skipper had added 22 off 14 balls, but after hitting Munaf for four, the bowler claimed Jadhav’s off-stump off the next delivery. With the team gasping for breath on 27 for four, Nikhil Naik made his way to the middle. And 16 runs later, N Chauhan had Bawne leg before. Without a run added to the total, Naik too was back in the dressing room soon, leaving the team on 43 for six. Looking for a big hit off Rohit Dahiya, he was caught by Munaf at long-on.
With the target looming at a distance, Khurana joined Mundhe in the middle. Firmly in the driver’s seat, Gujarat maintained a strangle hold on the game. Khuarna was the next to return to the dugout after offering a simple catch to Barad off Akshar; he was replaced by Darekar in the middle.
However, with the team on the back foot, Mundhe decided to attack. He hit Karia for a six over long-off and then clobbered Chauhan for 20 runs in an over. But an aerial shot by Mundhe was caught by Karia at cover off Dahiya, bringing an end to the batsman’s cameo (42 off 26 balls).
Thanks to a mix-up Darekar was run out, leaving the team on 108 for nine. And finally, Akshar castled Muthusawmi in the next over to bring the curtains down on the game.
Mumbai vs Baroda: With a blistering 57-ball 82*, H Pandya set up a victory for Baroda. The middle-order batsman powered his team to 144 for five after losing both openers with 20 runs on the board. Captain Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan contributed 13 runs each. Munaf Patel then helped dismantle the Mumbai line-up and bowl Baroda to a 19-run win. Munaf claimed three wickets, while L Meriwala and K Pandya took two wickets each and Irfan picked one wicket
