Riding on skipper Yusuf Pathan's brilliant unbeaten half century, Baroda registered their fourth successive win by thrashing Maharashtra by six wickets in a West Zone leg match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, here today.
Opting to bat, Maharashtra posted a modest 139 for seven, which Baroda chased down with 15 balls to spare but not before they experienced some early jitters. Yusuf, who came into bat at number six, struck seven fours and three sixes during his unconquered 24-ball 57.
Chasing 140 for victory, Baroda did not have an ideal start as they lost openers Kedar Devdhar (11) and Aditya Waghmode (2) early.
Waghmode was the first to return to the pavilion when he fell short of his crease as a direct hit from Harshad Khadiwale hit the stumps in the second over.
Then Devdhar's dismissal two overs later left Baroda struggling at 20 for two.
However, a 49-run solid partnership between one-down batsman Rakesh Solanki (40 not out) and Hardik Pandya (29) for the third wicket brought Baroda's campaign back on track.
But just when things had started to look fine for Baroda, Shrikant Mundhe delivered a maiden over while picking up two wickets to once again bring Maharashtra back into contention with Baroda scorecard reading 69 for four.
Skipper Yusuf then ensured that Baroda reached the target without any further damage.
Yusuf stitched an unbroken 73-run stand for the fifth wicket with Solanki, who remained unbeaten on 40 off 36 balls, to guide the team to victory rather comfortably in the end.
