A fairy-tale ending for Gujarat

[rkt.india]

Riding on a three-wicket haul by teenager Jasprit Bumrah, Gujarat surprised Punjab by six wickets to lift the Airtel Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Holkar Stadium here on Sunday. After playing all its pool matches at the same venue, Mandeep Singh’s team was expected to make the most of its ‘home’ advantage against a side which had narrowly escaped elimination in the group stage. However, as skipper Parthiv Patel noted after the match, the victory over Kerala in the previous game was the “turning point†in Gujarat’s campaign and gave the side the confidence to “overcome all odds.†Parthiv’s team faced another significant challenge when Mandeep chose to bat on a pitch that had favoured teams batting first until the final. Ten runs were scored in the opening over but subsequent events only belied the indications provided by the first six deliveries. Doing the damage Three wickets and a run came off the next 14 balls with Bumrah performing a fine exposition of seam bowling at a threatening pace. With his ‘Frankenstein-esque’ bowling action, the Mumbai Indians’ recruit scarred the opposition batting line-up and much of what followed was a result of the initial damage caused by him. Though Punjab succeeded in playing out the entire 20 overs, the required acceleration for runs was delayed until the 19th over due to the effort spent in preserving wickets. Punjab finished on 122 as Amitoze Singh excelled with a patient 49 off 42 balls, though he was dropped on 12 and 21. Despite the small target for Gujarat, Mandeep’s side was not yet out of the contest. Siddarth Kaul’s dismissal of Parthiv in the second over raised his team’s hopes further. However, that was to be the final spark in a bleak day for Punjab. Asad Pathan scored a quick 32, which included three sixes, and established a 50-run partnership with Niraj Patel to kick-start Gujarat’s chase. Though the side’s progress was slightly halted due to the duo’s dismissal on consecutive deliveries in the eighth over, Manprit Juneja and Abdulahad Malek ensured that Punjab could find no way back in the match with a 64-run stand. In fact, the North Zone side’s baffling field placements allowed the two batsmen to pick easy singles and Gujarat finally reached home with 13 balls to spare.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/a-fairytale-ending-for-gujarat/article4567211.ece

[Sooda]

well Jasprit Bumrah picks up a 3-fer for MI including Kohli, did not see him bowl at all but looks promising... hope he keeps it going

[rkt.india]

It was an unexpected debut.

[rkt.india]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrNR7zxXYXQ]1st Inning Wickets: IPL 2013 - RCB vs MI, Match 2 - YouTube[/ame]