Gujarat clinched the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy National Twenty20 Championship after registering a thumping six-wicket victory over Punjab in the final in Indore, on Sunday.
Electing to bat, Punjab got off to a nightmare start as they were reduced to 20 for four in the sixth over before they recovered to post a modest 122 for eight in their allotted 20 overs at the Holkar Stadium.
Gujarat cruised to victory as they chased down the target with 13 balls to spare.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the Gujarat bowlers as he returned with impressive figures of three wickets for 14 runs from his four overs. Mehul Patel chipped in with two wickets, while Rohit Dahiya and Rakesh Dhurv took wicket apiece.
Amitoze Singh top-scored for Punjab with a 42-ball 49, while wicketkeeper-batsman Chandan Madan contributed with 25 runs.
Chasing a modest target of 123, Gujarat were dealt with an early blow as they lost their wicketkeeper captain Parthiv Patel early for one.
Opener Asad Pathan (32) and one-down batsman Niraj Patel (14) put up a 50-run partnership, before they were both dismissed in the eighth over with the team score of 52.
Manprit Juneja (31), who hit a breathtaking unbeaten 108 in their final Super League match against Kerala on Saturday and Abdulahad Malik (31 not out) put up a 64-run stand as Gujarat kept abreast with the required run rate.
Akshar Patel (12 not out) sealed the victory in style with a six as Gujarat reached 128 for four in 17.5 overs.
For Punjab, left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh grabbed two wickets for 40, while Siddarth Kaul bagged a wicket.
Brief Scores:
Punjab: 122 for 8 in 20 overs (Amitoze Singh 49; Jasprit Bumrah 3/14)
Gujarat: 128 for 4 in 17.5 overs (Asad Pathan 32; Rajwinder Singh 2/40)
Result: Gujarat won by six wickets.
Photograph: BCCI
