Yadav spins UP to 71-run win in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy

Indore: Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in domestic competitions to spin Uttar Pradesh to a 71-run win over Vidarbha in the Central Zone leg encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, here.

UP spinners made a definite impact in the opening day of the event as leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (3-17) and Yadav (5-17) shared eight wickets between them to bundle out the Subramaniam Badrinath-led side for a paltry 68 runs in pursuit of their 140-run target.

Off-spinner Gaurav Tomar and medium-pacer RP Singh also shared a wicket apiece as only three Vidarbha batsmen managed to get into double figures. Earlier put into bat, UP rode an unbeaten 35 from skipper Akshdeep Nath to post 139 for seven in 20 overs. Opener Prashant Gupta (34) and No.9 batsman Imtiaz Ahmed (20 not out) also chipped in with useful scores.

New-ball bowler Shrikanth Wagh and left-arm pacer Yadvendra Tembhar bagged two wickets each. In another Central Zone encounter played at the same venue, Rajasthan outplayed Madhya Pradesh by 36 runs to pocket four points from their first match of the tournament. 

Electing to bat, the Ashok Menaria-led side posted a challenging 158 for six in 20 overs. Opener Ankit Lamba top-scored with 42 runs, while Aditya Garhwal (36) and Rajesh Bishnoi Sr (24) also contributed with useful cameos. Off-spinner Jalaj Saxena bagged three wickets while pace spearhead Ishwar Pandey chipped in with two scalps.

The Naman Ojha-led side faltered big time in the chase as Udit Birla's valiant 38 was not enough to get to to their 159-run target and Madhya Pradesh were all out for 122 in 17.4 overs. Menaria opened the bowling with his left-arm spin to pick three crucial wickets. Off-spinner Chandrapal Singh and medium-pacer Nathu Singh bagged two wickets each.

Brief Scores: Match 1 - Uttar Pradesh 139/7 in 20 overs (Akshdeep Nath 35 not out, Prashant Gupta 34; Shrikanth Wagh 2-26, Yadvendra Tembhar 2-20) beat Vidarbha 68 all out in 16.4 overs (Jitesh Sharma 17, Ganesh Satish 12, Shalabh Shrivastava 11; Kuldeep Yadav 5-17, Pyush Chawla 3-17).

Match 2 - Rajasthan 158/6 in 20 overs (Ankit Lamba 42, Aditya Garhwal 36; Jalaj Saxena 3-28, Ishwar Pandey 2-18) beat Madhya Pradesh 122 all out in 17.4 overs (Udit Birla 38; Ashok Menaria 3-29, Chandrapal Singh 2-26, Nathu Singh 2-9).