KOLKATA: There will be no margin for errors when Punjab play Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai take on Vidarbha in the semifinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) meet at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday. Going by present form, Punjab hold an edge over Himachal, but Vidarbha are likely to prove a hard nut to crack for Mumbai.
Shubman Gill’s sublime century in the last match against the strong bowling attack of Karnataka would keep the Himachal team management a worried lot. But it is not only Gill, things can get difficult for them if Prabhsimran Singh continues to score in abundance. Himachal will again look towards middle-order batter Akash Vasisht, who led the side in chasing 200 runs against Bengal in the quarterfinal, to provide solidarity to their innings. However, skipper Ankush Bains will hope that the experienced Rishi Dhawan-led bowling unit will be able to keep things tight after leaking runs against Bengal.
Mumbai batters will have their task cut out against Vidarbha’s pace duo of experienced Umesh Yadav and youngster Yash Thakur. The latter has emerged as the leading death bowler of the tournament defending nine runs in the last over against formidable Delhi in the quarters. While Shivam Dube has been providing the side a good finish staying undefeated in the last three games, Mumbai will hope that opener Prithvi Shaw will get back among runs and provide them a flying start for Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer to captalise on in the middle overs and give pacer Tushar Deshpande and left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who have been the side’s top wicket-takers, a decent score to defend.
Shubman Gill’s sublime century in the last match against the strong bowling attack of Karnataka would keep the Himachal team management a worried lot. But it is not only Gill, things can get difficult for them if Prabhsimran Singh continues to score in abundance. Himachal will again look towards middle-order batter Akash Vasisht, who led the side in chasing 200 runs against Bengal in the quarterfinal, to provide solidarity to their innings. However, skipper Ankush Bains will hope that the experienced Rishi Dhawan-led bowling unit will be able to keep things tight after leaking runs against Bengal.
Mumbai batters will have their task cut out against Vidarbha’s pace duo of experienced Umesh Yadav and youngster Yash Thakur. The latter has emerged as the leading death bowler of the tournament defending nine runs in the last over against formidable Delhi in the quarters. While Shivam Dube has been providing the side a good finish staying undefeated in the last three games, Mumbai will hope that opener Prithvi Shaw will get back among runs and provide them a flying start for Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer to captalise on in the middle overs and give pacer Tushar Deshpande and left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who have been the side’s top wicket-takers, a decent score to defend.