A match-winning century by Anmolpreet Singh (113 runs off 61 balls) helped Punjab claim their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali title as they defeated two-time champions Baroda by 20 runs in the summit clash of the 2023 season while playing at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Monday, November 6.
Baroda’s decision to field first and chase under lights to utilise the dew factor went in vain as Anmolpreet got under the skins of the Baroda bowlers and hammered them to all parts of the park.
Anmolpreet had to make his way into the middle to face the very second ball of the match after opener Abhishek Sharma got out for a golden duck. Before Anmolpreet could get his eye in, Punjab suffered another telling blow as the opener Prabhsimran Singh was forced to make his way back to the dugout as Atit Sheth got rid of him at an individual score of 9.
But the fall of two quick wickets didn’t put Anmolpreet off his radar as he launched an onslaught against Baroda and helped Punjab make a quick recovery.
Firstly, he stitched a 62-run stand for the third wicket with his skipper Mandeep Singh and once Mandeep got out in the 11th over he joined hands with Nehal Wadhera and aggregated 138 runs for the fourth wicket to help Punjab score a mammoth 223 for the loss of four wickets.
Wadhera added the much-needed impetus at the end of Punjab’s innings and powered his way to 61* off just 27 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes.
In reply, Baroda fought valiantly as Ninad Rathva (47 off 22), Abhimanyusingh Rajput (61 off 42) and skipper Krunal Pandya (45 off 32) played gutsy knocks but unfortunately for them, it didn’t turn out to be enough as they fell short in the end.
The game was in balance till the 18th over of the chase as Baroda required 33 to win off the last 12 deliveries. But wickets on consecutive deliveries by Arshdeep Singh pulled the game in Punjab’s corner. Arshdeep displayed his experience and skills in the penultimate over and snared three scalps (Krunal, Shivalik Sharma and Bhanu Pania) as the wheels of Baroda’s run chase came off suddenly.