Abhishek Sharma smashed five fours and six sixes in his whirlwind knock of 77 from just 45 balls as Punjab chased down Delhi's 183/7 to storm into the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Complementing Abhishek's effort was captain Mandeep Singh, who hit three fours and as many sixes in his undefeated 63 off 36 that took the team home.
SMAT
Abhishek Sharma, Mandeep Singh power Punjab to SMAT final
Abhishek smashed six sixes in his innings. © BCCI
Asked to bat first in Mohali, Delhi were dented by two early wickets in the PowerPlay but opener Anuj Rawat and Ayush Badoni earned their side a swift move-on. Rawat was particularly adventurous, getting 34 off 22 and adding 56 runs for the third wicket before he was dismissed by Harpreet Brar. Badoni added short stands with Himmat Singh and Lalit Yadav and finished unbeaten on 80 off just 57 balls (with seven fours and four sixes), dragging the team to what appeared a big total at the halfway stage.
Punjab lost three wickets in the PowerPlay but had 55 runs as a solid base for chase in that period. Abhishek was then joined by his captain for a 102-run stand off just 9.4 overs that turned the tables on Delhi. Suyash Sharma ended the partnership with the wicket of Abhishek, but it wasn't enough to stage a turnaround as captain Mandeep saw the chase through in the company of Nehal Wadhera.
Brief Scores: Delhi 183/7 in 20 overs (Ayush Badoni 80*, Anuj Rawat 34; Siddarth Kaul 3-27) lost to Punjab 184/4 in 18.4 overs (Abhishek Sharma 77, Mandeep Singh 63; Mayank Yadav 2-28, Suyash Sharma 2-38) by 6 wickets
