Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Himachal Pradesh beat Punjab by 13 runs to enter their maiden final

Himachal Pradesh qualified for the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after winning the semi-finals against Punjab at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Himachal defeated Punjab by 13 runs defending a target of 177, set on the back of a half-century (51 off 25) from Sumit Verma.

Shubman Gill held Punjab’s innings in their run-chase and scored 45 off 32, but failed to guide his side home.

Himachal’s Rishi Dhawan was pivotal with the ball, registering figures of 3/25 as he dismissed Abhishek Sharma early, and also scalped wickets of Pukhraj Mann and Ramandeep Singh later in the innings. Other bowlers also chipped in with regular wickets and that ensured Punjab didn’t have a decent partnership to chase down the target.

Himachal Pradesh produced a 13-run victory over Punjab by successfully defending their target of 177 to march to the #SyedMushtaqAliT20 #Final! 👏👏 #PUNvHP | #SF1 | @mastercardindia

Here’s how the action unfolded 🎥 🔽https://t.co/crEMg4w8Fz pic.twitter.com/q3aiRvKEDZ

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) November 3, 2022

Himachal Pradesh skipper Rishi Dhawan credited his team for performing excellently even after their couple of games were washed out.

“We are playing the finals for the first time. Need to thank the players as they have been performing for the last few years. We have been playing together for the last few years. All of them have played 40-50 games. The boys know how to react in every situation. They know their roles as well.

“Experience is key in white ball cricket. We had two matches washed out. We had one game lesser in our pool. We took it one game at a time. We did that and we have the results. We know how to adapt to every situation. Even if two wickets fall early, we know how to come out of it.”

Himachal also won the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, and now have made it to the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

They will face either of Mumbai or Vidarbha in the finals on Saturday.

Brief Scores:

Himachal Pradesh: 176/7 from 20 overs (Sumeet Verma 51, Sanvir Singh 2/17) beat Punjab: 163/7 from 20 overs (Shubman Gill 45, Rishi Dhawan 3/25) by 13 runs.

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