Mohammed Shami struggled with his rhythm owing to his right knee swelling and the batters came a cropper as Bengal were beaten hands down by Baroda by 41 runs in their Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy quarter-final clash in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Shami did strike twice in his final over but was taken to the cleaners before that. He's currently at the National Cricket Academy and whether he will be participating in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (starting December 21) or leaving for Australia remains unclear.
Despite Shami's struggle, Bengal still kept both Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal at bay and limited Baroda to 172/7. But Shahbaz Ahmed's 55 aside, no other batters could provide any resistance as Bengal were all out for 131.
Shahbaz, though, will miss the Vijay Hazare matches as he's set to undergo a hernia operation soon in Germany. He is also doubtful for the remainder of the Ranji Trophy.
Brief scores: Baroda: 172/7 in 20 ovs (Shashwat Rawat 40; Pradipta Pramanik 2/6, Mohammed Shami 2/43). Bengal 131 in 18 ovs (Shahbaz Ahmed 55; Lukeman Merriwala 3/17, Hardik Pandya 3/27). Baroda won by 41 runs.