Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Himachal Pradesh beat Punjab by 13 runs in semifinal

A whirlwind half-century from Sumeet Verma was complemented by a three-wicket haul from Rishi Dhawan as Himachal Pradesh continued their fairytale run to enter the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final with a 13-run win over Punjab.

Sent in to bat, Sumeet slammed three fours and as many maximums in his 25-ball 51, while Akash Vasisht scored 43 off 24 balls, laced with four hits to the fence and two sixes to steer HP to 176 for 7. In response, Shubman Gill made a 32-ball 45 at the top while Anmol Preet Singh (30), Mandeep Singh (29) and Ramandeep Singh (29)



tried their bit but it wasn’t enough as they were limited to 163-7 in their 20 overs.

Dhawan did most of the damage for Himachal as he produced the first breakthrough, dismissing opener Abhishek Sharma (1), Pukhraj Mann (10) and Ramandeep. Mayank Dagar (2/27), Kanwar Abhinay Singh (1/27) and Akash Vasisht (1/8) were also among wickets.

Brief Scores:

Himachal Pradesh: 176 for 7 in 20 overs (S verma 51, A Vasisht 43; Abhishek Sharma 2/20, Sanvir Singh 2/17) Punjab: 163 for 7 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 45; Rishi Dhawan 3/25).