Baroda knockout champs Bengal

MUMBAI: Defending champions Bengal's hopes of keeping the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title crashed against the wall of a classy Ambati Rayudu as Baroda beat them by four wickets on a difficult wicket in the quarterfinals.
Baroda, who meet Delhi in the first semifinal on Monday, will be bolstered for that clash by the return of their biggest ace, Yusuf Pathan, who missed Sunday's game, reportedly due to his engagement.
Chasing a 112-run target, Baroda were in a spot at 26 for three, before Rayudu stroked a magnificent, unfinished 66 (56b, 9x4, 2x6) to guide them home single-handedly . Playing some wonderful strokes, Rayudu added 51 for the fourth wicket with Ketan Panchal , who contributed just 10 runs in the alliance, to prevent Baroda from collapsing further.
Once Panchal was gone, Rayudu stepped it up, smashing this season's best seamer in domestic cricket, Ashok Dinda, for a six to deep midwicket to reach his 50 (42b, 8x4, 1x6) before 'upper-cutting ' the next ball for a four. Rayudu's fine form should be music to the ears of the Mumbai Indians fans too, since this 26-year-old is a vital component of their middle order.
"It was a satisfying knock since this was a tough wicket to bat on," said Radudu later. Good warm-up before the IPL? "One can't brand this as a warm-up tournament. This is a serious event," he asserted.
For Bengal, 22-year-old seamer Shami Ahmed, who is a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders' outfit, impressed, taking three wickets while conceding just 14 runs in four overs.
Choosing to field first, Baroda , playing without the Pathan brothers, kept Bengal on a tight leash throughout their innings. They clearly were missing the spark of Sourav Ganguly, who had led them to the Vijay Hazare title earlier this month in Delhi.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary seemed rusty after serving drinks on two consecutive tours with the national side, and managed a 25-ball 19 before perishing.
For Baroda, all the bowlers did their job well. Discarded seamer Munaf Patel failed to pick up a wicket, but looked sharp nevertheless.