Rahane’s 98 powers Mumbai into final, MP beat Delhi

Ajinkya Rahane celebrates his 50 yesterday. Pic/PTI

Ajinkya Rahane continued his T20 re-invention with a brutal 98 that carried Mumbai to a six-wicket victory over Baroda and into the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Friday.

Mumbai bowlers chipped away at regular intervals as Baroda were restricted to 158-7, and Rahane's blistering knock off 56 balls (11x4, 5x6) took his team to 164-4 in 17.2 overs in the first semi-final.

Mumbai will face the winner of the second semi-final between Delhi and Madhya Pradesh in the final on Sunday.

It was quite remarkable to see Rahane, a batsman of classic mould, playing like a T20 thoroughbred and the right-hander brought up his fifty in 29 balls with a massive six over mid-wicket off pacer Hardik Pandya.

After the early departure of Prithvi Shaw (8), who scooped Hardik to Atit Sheth in the circle, Rahane and skipper Shreyas Iyer (46, 30b, 4x4, 3x6) added 78 runs for the second wicket in just nine overs.

Earlier, Mumbai bowlers were on the money right through the innings while exploiting some early movement on a damp day.

Later in the day, Skipper Rajat Patidar led from the front with a scintillating unbeaten fifty as Madhya Pradesh trashed former champions Delhi by seven wickets to storm into their first final in 13 years.

Opting to field, Madhya Pradesh's bowlers put up a clinical performance, with all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (2-12) leading the charge by taking two wickets to restrict Delhi, the 2018 winners, to a modest 146-5.

In reply, MP overhauled the target in 15.4 overs with Patidar top-scoring with a 29-ball 66 not out, which included four fours and six sixes.

Brief scores
Baroda 158-7 in 20 overs (S Sharma 36', S Rawat 33, K Pandya 30; S Shedge 2-11) lost to Mumbai 164-4 in 17.2 overs (A Rahane 98, S Iyer 46) by six wickets

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