Bengal’s Mohammed Shami during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 quarterfinal match between Baroda and Bengal, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Baroda won the match by 41 runs. (PTI Photo)
Where does Mohammed Shami go from here? As he hurriedly headed to the dressing room after being out for a zero off two balls shortly before Baroda knocked out Bengal from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a 41-run win in the quarterfinals, a tour to Australia looked distant in every sense for Shami. For a pacer whose biggest strength has been his ability to hit the hard lengths and make the ball move, he hardly looked his old self, as his wayward bowling meant he returned with figures of 4-0-43-2. This is the third time in this tournament he has gone at more than 10 an over as he continues to search for consistency.
When Bengal won the toss and elected to bowl first in this 11 am fixture at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, they would have wanted their star pacer to make the most out of the conditions. For a seamer considered surplus to India’s T20I requirements for over two years now, in the IPL his exploits with the new ball for Gujarat Titans is what won him the berth in the 50-over World Cup last year. Consistent in hitting the hard lengths and making the ball move had had many of the aggressive openers in trouble.
On Wednesday, Baroda’s openers seldom had any trouble when it came to facing Shami. In the first over he bowled two successive wides and a boundary and then in the second conceded 18 runs as Shashwat Rawat hit him for a boundary and a six. Thereafter, he was mostly positioned at fine leg or short fine leg even as Bengal came back strongly into the game in the middle overs.
Hardik Pandya walked in at the fall of first wicket at 90/1 in 9.4 overs and three deliveries later, his brother Krunal Pandya joined him in the middle as Baroda sensed another huge total. But the two were back in the hut for 10 and 7 respectively as Baroda sought some help in the end overs. A total of 200 that seemed possible, looked way beyond Baroda’s reach as wickets fell in a heap.
Bengal turned to Shami again in the 17th over in the hope to close out the game. But Shivalik Sharma’s twin sixes meant Shami conceded 15 runs as Baroda wrestled the momentum back. Courtesy Bhanu Pania and Vishnu Solanki, Baroda finished strong, but not before Shami took out Shivalik and Atit Sheth off successive deliveries when they were going for big hits.
A target of 173 was well within Bengal’s reach. Enter Lukman Meriwala. The 33-year-old who bowls in the late 130s and early 140s and has the ability to move the ball both ways while hitting the back of the length. He has been amongst the most successful bowlers in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. When the pitch isn’t offering much, he falls back on his other biggest strength – land yorkers which has become a part of his repertoire thanks to the time he spent playing tennis ball cricket.
Hailing from the Bharuch region of Gujarat, where Munaf Patel comes from, Meriwala has been part of Baroda’s system since 2009. At one point, with no opportunities coming by, he had even gone back to his village to study ITI and help his father who was a welder. But, with his interest in cricket not fading away, his parents would send him back to Baroda. Having been integrated into the system in 2009, he would make his debut for Baroda in white-ball tournaments in 2013. He has now evolved into an all-format seamer, but there is a reason why Meriwala looks at peace in shorter formats.
As Bengal raced to 28/0 in three overs with Abhishek Porel starting with three boundaries and a six, Baroda needed Meriwala to make the inroads. And in his second over, he broke Bengal’s back with three wickets. First up he had Karan Lal inside-edge back on to the stumps and a delivery later trapped Sudip Kumar Gharami plumb in front with one that came back in. He would then end the over by taking a wonderful return catch to dismiss Writtick Chatterjee. By the time Atit Sheth removed Porel in the next over, the writing was on the wall for Bengal.
As has been the case through the tournament, losing wickets have seldom stopped teams from going for the shots and Bengal were no different as they kept the required run-rate in check. At 85/4, they were still in the game before Hardik Pandya removed Ritwik Roy Chowdhury. From there on Shahbaz Ahmed fought the lone battle, but at no time did Baroda look threatened as they wrapped up the game with two overs to spare.
Brief scores: Baroda 172/7 in 20 overs (Shashwat Rawat 40, Abhimanyu Rajput 37; Pradipta Pramnik 2/9) beat Bengal 131 in 18 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 55; Lukman Meriwala 3/17, Hardik Pandy 3/27).
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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