Shreyas Iyer scored a magnificent half-century to guide Mumbai to a convincing five-wicket win over Vidarbha in the semifinals and get his team a place in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Mumbai will take on another first-timer Himachal, which outwitted a strong Punjab by 13 runs, in the summit clash on Saturday.
Electing to bat, Vidarbha progressed due to opener Atharva Taide (29, 22b, 3×4, 1×6) and Apporva Wankhede (34, 26b, 3×4, 2×6) even as the Mumbai bowlers made frequent dents.
Jitesh Sharma (46 n.o., 24b, 3×4, 3×6) switched gears at the right time, hitting three sixes in the last over, to get Vidarbha a fighting total.
Shams Mulani bowled accurately to scalp three batters.
After Mumbai lost skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Yashasvi Jaiswal for 31, Prithvi Shaw (34, 21b, 2×4, 3×6) and Shreyas (73, 44b, 7×4, 4×6) gathered 43 runs with the former displaying some well-timed shots.
Shreyas took his time before flexing his muscles, especially on the onside. He was severe on pacer Yash Thakur, plundering 19 runs, including a six and three fours, in the 14 th over.
Shreyas, who formed a 71-run partnership with Sarfaraz Khan (27, 2×4, 1×6), was held at deep square-leg off Akshay Karnewar when Mumbai needed only 20 runs.
Inserted in, Himachal rode on quick-fire knocks of Sumeet Verma (51, 25b, 3×4, 3×6) and Akash Vashisht (43, 25b, 4×4, 2×6) to post 176 for seven.
Vashisht, the match-winner in the quarterfinals, added 45 with Sumeet in the middle overs and 47 with Pankaj Jaswal (27, 16b, 2×4, 1×6) in the slog overs.
Led by an inspiring Rishi Dhawan, who claimed three for 25, Himachal bowlers stuck to their plans and took wickets regularly.
Efforts of Shubman Gill (45, 32b, 6×4, 1×6), Anmolpreet Singh (30, 25b, 3×4, 1×6), captain Mandeep Singh (29 n.o., 15b, 3×4, 1×6) and Ramandeep Singh (29, 15b, 3×4, 2×6) were in vain.
The scores:
Himachal Pradesh 176/7 in 20 overs (Sumeet Verma 51, Akash Vashisht 43) bt Punjab 163/7 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 45, Anmolpreet Singh 30, Rishi Dhawan 3/25).
Vidarbha 164/7 in 20 overs (Jitesh Sharma 46 n.o., Apoorv Wankhede 34, Shams Mulani 3/20) lost to Mumbai 169/5 in 16.5 overs (Shreyas Iyer 73, Prithvi Shaw 34).
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