Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23 pre-quarterfinals: Sheldon Jackson, Prabhsimran Singh and Umesh Yadav deliver match-winning performances

Punjab, Vidarbha and Saurashtra registered victories in their respective pre-quarterfinal matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23 on Sunday, October 30.

While Punjab beat Haryana by a comprehensive margin of 49 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in pre-quarterfinal 1, Vidarbha got the better of Chhattisgarh by five wickets in pre-quarterfinal 2 at the Jadavpur University Campus in Kolkata.

The Saurashtra vs Kerala encounter (pre-quarter-final 3) at Eden Gardens was a lot closer, with Saurashtra eventually prevailing by nine runs.

Saurashtra won the toss and opted to bat first in their pre-quarterfinal clash against Kerala. Veteran keeper-batter Sheldon Jackson led the charge for the team with a well-compiled 64 off 44 balls. His knock featured four fours and as many sixes.

Samarth Vyas (34 off 18) and Vishvaraj Jadeja (31 off 23) also chipped in with handy contributions as Saurashtra posted an impressive 183/6 on the board. For Kerala, KM Asif was the standout bowler with 3/33 while Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan picked up 2/40.

Chasing 184, Kerala lost Mohammed Azharuddeen for a duck to Jaydev Unadkat. However, half-centuries from Sanju Samson (59 off 38) and Sachin Baby (64* off 47) gave them hope.

Samson was dismissed by Prerak Mankad at the start of the 16th over. Despite Baby remaining unbeaten, Kerala could not get over the line and finished on 174/4.

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Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23: Prabhsimran, Abhishek Sharma fifties lift Punjab to win

In pre-quarterfinal 1 of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23, Haryana won the toss and opted to bowl against Punjab.

However, while Mohit Sharma got rid of Shubman Gill (4) early, Abhishek Sharma (55* off 48) and Prabhsimran Singh (64 off 36) added exactly 100 runs for the second wicket to put Punjab in control. Prabhsimran struck five fours and as many sixes before getting run out. On the other hand, Abhishek hit five fours and a six in his unbeaten knock.

After a few wickets fell in quick succession, a cameo from Anmolpreet Singh (20 off 9) lifted Punjab to 176/7. Anshul Kamboj impressed for Haryana with figures of 3/25. Chasing 177, though, Haryana managed only 127/9. Nishant Sindhu’s 25-ball 42 was the only score of note. For Punjab, Baltej Singh claimed 3/20 while Siddarth Kaul and Mayank Markande chipped in with two scalps apiece.

In pre-quarterfinal 2 of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022-23, experienced Indian pacer Umesh Yadav starred with the ball as Vidarbha held Chhattisgarh for 111/9. Vidarbha won the toss and bowled first after which Yadav registered impressive figures of 3/27. Yash Thakur also claimed 2/23, while Akshay Karnewar finished with economical figures of 1/7 from four overs.

Opener Sanjay Raghunath guided Vidarbha’s chase of 112 with a solid 63 off 52 balls. While a couple of wickets fell around him, Raghunath held things together, slamming seven fours and three sixes. He was dismissed by Sumit Ruikar in the 14th over. However, there were no hiccups for Vidarbha as they got home in 18.4 overs.