Fri Dec 13 16:03:13 UTC 2024: ## Bengal Crashes Out of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy After Defeat Against Baroda
**Bengaluru, India:** Bengal’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign came to an abrupt end on Wednesday after a 41-run defeat against Baroda in the quarter-finals at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The loss was particularly disappointing given the high expectations surrounding Mohammed Shami, who failed to deliver his usual impactful performance.
Baroda, batting first, posted a challenging 172/7, thanks to a 40-run knock from Shashwat Rawat (26 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) and valuable contributions from Abhimanyu Singh (37) and Shivalik Sharma (24). Shami, despite taking 2 wickets for 43 runs, along with Pradipta Pramanik (2-6) and Kanishk Seth (2-39), couldn’t prevent Baroda from setting a strong total.
Chasing 173, Bengal’s innings crumbled under the pressure of Baroda’s impressive bowling attack, led by Hardik Pandya (3-27), Lukman Meriwala (3-17, Man of the Match), and Athit Sheth (3-41). Despite a fighting 55 (36 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes) from Shahbaz Ahmed, Bengal could only manage 131 runs in 18 overs. Shami himself contributed a meagre 0, falling victim to Pandya’s bowling. Shivalik Sharma particularly targeted Shami, hitting consecutive sixes off his bowling.
While Shami’s performance was under the spotlight as he prepares for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, his usual accuracy was missing. Before this match, he had a respectable 11 wickets at an economy rate of 7.8 in eight Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches.
In other quarter-final action, Madhya Pradesh defeated Saurashtra by 6 wickets thanks to Venkatesh Iyer’s all-around performance (2-23 and an unbeaten 38). Chirag Jani’s unbeaten 80 helped Saurashtra post 173/7, but Madhya Pradesh chased it down with four wickets to spare in 19.4 overs. Arpit Goud (42) and Rajat Patidar (28) also made significant contributions for Madhya Pradesh.
First Piper 