Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Suresh Raina-Led Uttar Pradesh to Face Irfan Pathan's Baroda in Final

Irfan Pathan-led Baroda and Suresh Raina-captained Uttar Pradesh will square off in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 championships after notching up contrasting wins over their respective opponents in the final Super League encounters here on Monday. (Read more cricket stories here)

Baroda pipped hosts Mumbai en route to their summit clash berth by virtue of a better Net Run Rate (NRR) while Uttar Pradesh beat a formidable Delhi to reach title round.

Needing 152 to win in 19.1 overs to qualify for the finals, Baroda reached the target with one wicket to spare in 19 overs in a thrilling Group A match at the Wankhede Stadium. Baroda recorded a better NRR of +0.299 compared to +0.196.

Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, notched up their third straight win in Group B at the Bandra Kurla Complex ground of the Mumbai Cricket Association, by defeating Delhi by three wickets with two balls to spare.

Baroda captain Irfan Pathan last played for India in 2012 against South Africa in a T20I match.

© AFP

Contrasting wins

In reply to Delhi's total of 158 for six, structured around opener Unmukht Chand's 48 and Pawan Negi's unbeaten 41, Uttar Pradesh scored 159 for 7 in 19.4 overs, with Eklavya Dwivedi's game-changing innings of unbeaten 49 off 35 balls with five boundaries and two sixes.

At Wankhede Stadium, Baroda, after winning the toss, opted to field. Mumbai's 151 for five was built around T20 specialist Suryakumar Yadav's 57 off 36 balls studded with eight boundaries.

Chasing the target in 19.1 overs to qualify for the January 20 final under lights at the Wankhede, Baroda were struggling at 79 for 4 after 11 overs through a triple strike by leg spinner Praveen Tambe, who packed off Mrunal Devdhar (18), Hardik Pandya (28) and Yusuf Pathan (1).

And when Irfan Pathan (19) and Deepak Hooda departed, the latter after making 53 in 35 balls, Baroda were in trouble at 126 for six at the beginning of the 17th over.

But Soaeb Tai (10) and wicketkeeper Pinal Shah (13) held their nerves to add crucial 19 runs. Though they lost three more wickets, the last wicket pair of Bhargav Bhat (4 not out), who had taken two wickets earlier, and former India player Munaf Patel (0 not out) helped Baroda complete a close win within the stipulated number of overs. Baroda, two-time champions in 2011-12 and 2013-14, have thus earned themselves a chance to regain the trophy.