Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy: Uttar Pradesh defeat Puducherry by 7 wickets

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Captain Priyam Garg smashed 54 runs off 30 balls to guide Uttar Pradesh to a seven-wicket win over Puducherry in a Group E match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Monday.

Opting to bat, Uttar Pradesh rode on solid performances by Garg and openers Upendra Yadav (36) and Samarth Singh (29) to post a commanding 179, before their bowling attack spearheaded by Saurabh Kumar (4/14) restricted Puducherry to 102 for six. 

The Puducherry top-order batsman failed and the middle-order too were unable to stitch a match-winning partnership. Fabid Ahmed was the top-scorer with an unbeaten 25.

In other matches, Services thrashed Baroda by seven wickets while Uttarakhand got the better of Tripura by 37 runs. Elsewhere, Hyderabad suffered their fourth straight defeat in as many matches at the hands of Maharashtra by seven wickets.

In Palam A Stadium, Uttarakhand beat minnows Tripura by 37 runs to move to 16 points and retain its lead on the top. Put in to bat, opener Karn Veer Kaushal's 58 and Vaibhav Singh's 46 helped Uttarakhand post a total of 147.

Kaushal's innings was studded with six boundaries and two sixes while Singh hit a four and two sixes.

Chasing the target, Tripura were bundled out for 110. The batsmen struggled from the beginning with only two reaching double-digit scores.

In another match, Maharashtra crushed Hyderabad by seven wickets.

Batting first, Rohit Rayudu (47 not out) was the top-scorer for Hyderabad as they posted a total of 124 for 6.

A 54-run partnership between Rituraj Gaikwad and an unbeaten 42 from NS Shaik, helped Maharashtra overwhelm the target with 12 balls to spare.

In another Group E match, Services mauled Baroda by seven wickets.

Asked to bat first, Baroda were all out for 75. Diwesh Pathania and Vikas Kumar were the key wicket-takers for Services.

Services lost three wickets during their chase, with openers Nakul Verma and Ravi Chauhan falling to Swapnil Singh. Gahlaut Singh followed soon after. 

However, captain Rajat Paliwal (8) and Vikas Hathwala (18) guided their side to victory.

Brief Scores:

Uttar Pradesh 179 for 4 in 20 overs (Priyam Garg 54, Akshdeep Nath 29; Vikneshwaran Marimuthu 2-15) beat Puducherry 102 for 6 in 20 overs ( Fabid Ahmed 25 not out, Thamaraikannan Parandaman 25 not out; Saurabh Kumar 4-14) by eight wickets.

Services 76 for 3 in 16.2 overs (Ravi Chauhan 22, Nakul Verma 19; Swapnil Singh 2-16) beat Baroda 75 all out in 18.2 overs (Swapnil Singh 17, Vishnu Solanki 14; Mohit Kumar 2-10) by seven wickets.

Uttarakhand 147 for 5 in 20 overs (Karn Veer Kaushal 58, Vaibhav Singh 46; Sanjay Majumder 2-18) beat Tripura 110 all out in 19 overs (Nirupam Chowdhary 34, Manisankar Murasingh 33; Rohit Dangwal 3-16) by 37 runs.

Maharashtra 125 for 3 in 18 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 54, Naushad Shaikh 42 not out; Saaketh Sairam 2-38) beat Hyderabad 124 for 6 in 20 overs (Rohit Rayudu 47 not out, Bavanaka Sandeep 25; Vishal Gite 2-30) by seven wickets.