Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Irfan Pathan's Baroda Hold Edge Over Suresh Raina-Led Uttar Pradesh in Final
Irfan Pathan-led Baroda have won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy two times and most of their players are in-form as they go into the title clash against Suresh Raina's Uttar Pradesh
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: January 19, 2016 03:08 pm IST
Baroda appear to hold a slight edge over unbeaten Uttar Pradesh with their superior all-round strength in the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy final here on Wednesday. The Irfan Pathan-led team seems well-poised to grab their third Mushtaq Ali Trophy when the two teams clash under lights. (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Suresh Raina-Led Uttar Pradesh to Face Irfan Pathan's Baroda in Final)
Baroda have lost two out of nine game in the competition while Suresh Raina-led Uttar Pradesh have won all their eight matches so far.
But Baroda seem to hold the advantage over their rivals, in both batting and bowling, in the summit contest at the Wankhede Stadium.
Pandya and Pathan, Baroda's mainstays
All rounders Hardik Pandya, who will leave for Australia on January 22 to join the Indian team ahead of the T20 series Down Under, and Pathan have been in the forefront of Baroda's campaign.
Pandya has shone more with the bat, amassing 364 runs while also grabbing nine wickets in nine games. Left-handed Pathan has impressed more with the ball by grabbing 16 wickets in nine games and also scored 190 runs.
Both these players have been crucial to the progress of Baroda who, however, would expect a bit more from two other all-rounders -- Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan. Both have failed to prosper so far.
Baroda, champions in 2011-12 and 2013-14, also have a capable spinner in Bhargav Bhatt, and give the appearance of a well-balanced outfit.
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Raina, Praveen yet to fire for Uttar Pradesh
UP's batting has been a bit inconsistent with Eklavya Dwivedi being the most impressive of the lot with an aggregate of 258 runs in eight games at 64 per innings.
Prashant Gupta and Samarth Singh have been the other two batsmen among the runs, but the big disappointment has been Australia-bound T20 specialist Suresh Raina who has made just 111 runs in five games with 28 as his highest.
The left-hander will be required to fire big if UP, who have never won the title, are to upset Baroda's bid to regain the trophy after the gap of one season.
In bowling, while experienced former India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has been the stand-out performer (15 wickets in 8 games), the crafty Praveen Kumar (5 wickets in 7) has not done as much as was expected. Praveen has been outshone by Ankit Rajpoot (11 wickets in 8).