Venkatesh Iyer guided Madhya Pradesh to the semi-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024-25 on Wednesday, December 11 at KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur. Iyer brought his all-round skills to the fore as he first picked up 2/23 with the ball to restrict Saurashtra to 173/7. The right-arm seamer dismissed Sammar Gajjar and Ruchit Ahir in the 15th and 17th over respectively to derail Saurashtra’s innings.
Later with the bat, Iyer scored a match-winning cameo which helped them win by six wickets. The southpaw walked in to bat with his team on 62/2 in 7.1 overs and held one end, stitching crucial partnerships with Subhranshu Senapati (24), captain Rajat Patidar (28) and Harpreet Singh (22*). Iyer remained unbeaten on 38* (33) with the help of two fours and as many sixes.
As a result, Madhya Pradesh chased down the target in 19.2 overs and became the first team to qualify for the semi final of the tournament as Iyer was adjudged Player of the Match. The all-rounder has been in phenomenal form in the ongoing tournament having scored 210 runs from eight innings at an average of 70 and a strike rate of 161.53. With the ball, he scalped four wickets from eight matches at an average of 31.75 and an economy of 9.07.
Baroda also qualified for the semi final
Meanwhile, Baroda also beat Bengal by 41 runs in the other quarter final. After being put in to bat first, Baroda posted a good score of 172/7 in their allotted 20 overs with Shashwat Rawat top scoring with 40 (26). Abhimanyu Singh also contributed with 37 (34) with the help of five boundaries and a six.
Mohammed Shami (2/43), Kanishk Seth (2/39), and Pradipta Pramanik (2/6, 2 overs) picked up two wickets each for Baroda. In reply, Bengal were bundled out for 131 in 18 overs with Shahbaz Ahmed being the lone warrior with his knock of 55 (36). Hardik Pandya (3/27), Lukman Meriwala (3/17) and Atit Seth (3/41) picked up three wickets each for Baroda.
