Punjab pacer Arshdeep Singh was absolutely phenomenal in the death overs as his side defeated Baroda in the final match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). Anmolpreet Singh also stroked a record-making century as Punjab went on to clinch their maiden title. Chasing a massive total of 223 runs, Baroda felt short by 20 runs in SMAT 2023 final played at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
This was Punjab’s fourth SMAT final
After being invited to bat first, Punjab lost Abhishek Sharma off the first ball of the match. The other opener Prabhsimran Singh also fell cheaply. But it was the Anmolpreet Singh show as he completed a spectacular hundred. He was well supported by senior batter Mandeep Singh as he scored 32 off 23 balls in the 62-run stand for the third wicket. Nehal Wadhera scored 61* off 27 balls. as he put on a partnership of 138 runs with Anmolpreet. As a result, Punjab ended with 223/4 in 20 overs.
In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh was the star as he grabbed three crucial wickets and bowled brilliantly at the death overs to give Punjab a memorable win at their home ground.
“I just backed myself and starting it was dry but it became better. We lost early wickets and we played according to the situation. Then we accelerated and got the runs. Happy with my performance very much,” said POTM Anmolpreet Singh.
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