By Admin 
Arshin Kulkarni and Prithvi Shaw scored stroke-filled half-centuries as Maharashtra bounced back to beat Hyderabad by eight wickets in a Group-B match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at the Jadavpur University ground here on Friday.
Put in to bat on a flat surface, Hyderabad totalled 191 for eight. Maharashtra, following its dismal outing against Jammu & Kashmir, achieved the target in the penultimate over.
Even though the target looked formidable, Arshin and Shaw batted positively and made the most of the ‘lives’ they got. They unleashed their fine stroke-play to plunder 117 runs and laid a solid foundation for the first wicket.
Maharashtra’s Arshin and Tripathi after winning against Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit:
DEBASISH BHADURI
Arshin (89 n.o., 54b, 12×4, 2×6) cut and drove powerfully, whereas Shaw (66, 36b, 9×4, 3×6), who impressed with his flat-batted punches, played his shots all around the park. They collected 33 runs in the last two overs of the PowerPlay, which produced 68, to put Hyderabad under serious pressure.
When Shaw was bowled by Rakshann Readdi in the 13th over, the match was in Maharashtra’s control.
Arshin added 41 with Rahul Tripathi (26 n.o.) to complete the formalities. While Hyderabad bowlers were erratic in their line and length, their fielders made matters worse with a below-par showing.
Earlier, Hyderabad lost wickets frequently because of Maharashtra’s well-planned bowling. Handy contributions from bottom-half batters, including Tanay Thyagarajan (32, 17b, 3×4, 2×6), captain C.V. Milind (35 n.o., 20b, 4×4, 1×6), and Mohammed Arfaz (23, 13b, 3×4, 1×6), enabled the side to cross 190.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh rode on Aryan Juyal’s second successive fifty, Prashant Veer’s all-round showing and Vipraj Nigam’s three-wicket haul to thrash Jammu & Kashmir by 109 runs. Despite in-form pacer Umran Malik scalping three, Uttar Pradesh scored 193 for six. J&K, which missed the batting of skipper Shubham Khajuria (absent hurt), was bundled out for 84.
Madhya Pradesh relied on Venkatesh Iyer and Harsh Gawali’s half-centuries and Shivang Kumar’s three wickets to record a comprehensive 62-run win over Bihar. MP gathered 174 for eight and wrapped up the Bihar innings for 112.
The scores: At Eden Gardens: Madhya Pradesh 174/8 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 55 n.o., Harsh Gawli 50, Mohd. Izhar 4/39) bt Bihar 112 in 19.2 overs (Bipin Saurabh 32, Shivang Kumar 3/25).
At Jadavpur University ground: Hyderabad 191/8 in 20 overs (Rahul Buddhi 31, Tanay Thyagarajann 32, C.V. Milind 35 n.o.,) lost to Maharashtra 192/2 in 18.4 overs (Prithvi Shaw 66, Arshin Kulkarni 89 n.o.).
Uttar Pradesh 193/6 in 20 overs (Aryan Juyal 51, Karan Sharma 32, Sameer Rizvi 30, Prashant Veer 37 n.o., Umran Malik 3/37) bt Jammu & Kashmir 84 in 15.3 overs (Prashant Veer 3/20, Vipraj Nigam 3/25).