Madhya Pradesh and Baroda Triumph in Thrilling Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Quarters

Madhya Pradesh clinched a place in the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, defeating Saurashtra by six wickets. Meanwhile, Baroda secured a semi-final spot with a 41-run victory over Bengal. Notable performances included Venkatesh Iyer's all-rounder heroics for Madhya Pradesh and Lukman Meriwala's impactful bowling for Baroda.

Madhya Pradesh cruised into the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by defeating Saurashtra with four balls and six wickets to spare. Achieving this feat for the first time since the 2010-11 season, Madhya Pradesh was propelled by stellar performances from Harpreet Singh and Venkatesh Iyer. The latter, who was named 'Player of the Match', showcased commendable all-round skills, remaining unbeaten on 38 runs off 33 balls and earlier taking 2 wickets for 23 in his three-over spell.

The run chase was effectively built on contributions from Arpit Gaud, Subhranshu Senapati, and skipper Rajat Patidar. Despite Saurashtra's Chirag Jani impressing with a solid 80 not out off 45 balls, their total of 173 was not enough against Madhya Pradesh's strong batting line-up.

In another quarter-final, Baroda ousted Bengal by 41 runs, largely thanks to Lukman Meriwala's crucial three-wicket haul. Baroda's aggressive start set a challenging target which Bengal struggled to meet, faltering early in their innings and eventually being all out for 131. Meriwala was declared 'Player of the Match' for his excellent bowling figures of 3/17.

(With inputs from agencies.)