Bowlers, Patidar set up MP win

RAIPUR: “We made our captain practice tossing the coin,” Madhya Pradesh coach Harvinder Singh Sodhi jokingly told TOI after MP recorded a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over star-studded Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
With 9 am start, the toss was vital in cold conditions in Raipur. It’s always an advantage bowling first. Naman Ojha won the toss and smilingly conveyed to Suresh Raina about the decision to bowl.MP seamers—led by Ishwar Pandey—made life difficult for Uttar Pradesh batsmen. The team, which had as many as eight IPL players, managed 108 for seven wickets in their 20 overs in their Central Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament here at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium.
MP opener Rajat Patidar then showed their UP counterparts how to bat in such conditions. The elegant right-hander played proper cricketing shots, looked for singles and doubles to see MP home with seven wickets in hand with his unbeaten 51-run (41b, 5x4, 1x6) knock. MP chased the target in 17 overs.
Patidar’s knock had everything—class, timing and elegance. He batted adeptly against pacers and spinners and looked in total control after MP lost experienced Naman Ojha in the first over. Patidar saw off a couple of testing overs from ex-India seamer Praveen Kumar and Mohsin Multan Khan. His on drive off Mohsin was easily the shot of the match. The ball raced away as soon as it hit Patidar’s bat.
Patidar had two useful stands with two left-handers—skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia (12) and Parth Sahni (17). His fourth-wicket stand of 42 with another left-ahddner Venkatesh Iyer (27, 23b, 2x4) sealed the victory for MP. Patidar cut, drove and pulled extremely well and his six off India spinner Kuldeep Yadav was example of pure timing. He hardly looked like making an effort to hit, instead timed it perfectly.
All this, after MP bowlers set up the game with some disciplined bowling after the first over by Ishwar Pandey. Pandey looked rusty in the first over and his line length was not up to the mark. Avesh Khan gave the breakthrough taking a sharp return catch to see off opener Sarul Kanwar. Pandey made amends for his average first over and trapped UP skipper Suresh Raina with a full pitched inswinging delivery.
However, it was Akshdeep Nath’s run out that started the UP downfall. Puneet Datey made a brilliant sliding stop at third man boundary and threw the ball flat and straight to wicketkeeper Naman Ojha who wiped the bail in a flash. Nath was just short of the crease. Datey and Khan bowled tight line, while spinners Mihir Hirwani and Ankit Sharma never allowed UP batsmen to free their arms. Hirwani got the crucial wicket of dangerous Sarfaraz Khan, while Sharma got the wickets of allrounder Saurabh Kumar and Rinku Singh.