Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai will vie for the crown in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy final at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
In the semi-finals at the Eden on Thursday, Himachal defeated Punjab by 13 runs while Shreyas Iyer (73) helped Mumbai to a five-wicket victory over Vidarbha.
In the first semi-final, Himachal rode Sumeet Verma’s 51 and Akash Vasisht’s 43 to post a competitive total of 176 for 7. Pankaj Jaiswal’s 27 off 16 balls also provided a late impetus to their innings.
In reply, opener Shubman Gill (45) aside, none of the other Punjab batters could click. Himachal captain Rishi Dhawan’s three-wicket haul also made matters tougher.
Later in the evening, Shreyas hit seven fours and four sixes in his 44-ball knock as Mumbai overhauled Vidarbha’s 164 for 7 with 19 balls left.
Summarised scores: Himachal Pradesh 176/7 in 20 overs (S. Verma 51; A. Sharma 2/20). Punjab 163/7 in 20 overs (S. Gill 45; R. Dhawan 3/25). Himachal Pradesh won by 13 runs. ■ Vidarbha 164/7 in 20 ovs (J. Sharma 46 n.o.; S. Mulani 3/20). Mumbai 169/5 in 16.5 overs (S. Iyer 73). Mumbai won by 5 wickets.
