Lamba, Choudhary fashion 20-run victory

NAGPUR: The start often turns out crucial in the shorter format. Rajasthan nailed it against Madhya Pradesh starting off well both while batting as well as bowling to upset their mighty opponents by 20 runs in their opening match of the Central Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament on Monday.
The Rajasthan openers - Surya Prakash Suwalka (41, 24b, 9x4) and Ankit Lamba (74, 55b, 6x4, 3x6)- came out all guns blazing to take full advantage of a flat track, fast outfield and some average bowling by MP new ball bowlers to lay the foundation with a 64-run stand in just 6.4 overs.Even the wickets in the middle overs couldn't stop Rajasthan to score 177-5 in their 20 overs.
After a good score on the board, Rajasthan bowlers needed to bowl with discipline and they did it with aplomb. Led by their skipper Pankaj Singh, Rajasthan bowlers were not only able to keep MP batsmen quiet but also chipped in with regular wickets as MP were restricted to 157-9 in their 20 overs.
It wasn't an ideal start for MP as Suwalka took 13 runs off Ishwar Pandey's first overs, hitting three audacious shots. Pandey provided enough width to Swalka to free his arms and the diminutive right-hander gleefully accepted the present to strike three glorious boundaries on the off side. It set the tone for Rajasthan innings as Suwalka and Lamba scored boundaries at will. As many as 13 boundaries were scored in the Powerplay and it was Swalka's downfall that slowed down the things.
Leg-spinner Jatin Saxena struck in his first over removing dangerous looking Suwalka. Rajasthan then lost wickets of stroke-players Rajesh Bishnoi and Punit Yadav in quick succession. However, Lamba played intelligently in company of southpaw Naresh Gehlot (36*, 26b, 5x4) to put a respectable total on the board.
With so many stroke-players in their ranks, the total wasn't beyond MP's reach but they couldn't get a proper start. Naman Ojha fell to a brilliant return catch by Pankaj Singh while skipper Mohnish Mishra was finding it difficult to get going. The only time MP looked in contention was when Harpreet Singh (27, 16b, 4x4) and Udit Birla (17, 11B, 14, 1X6) added 46 runs in just 20 balls. However, a debatable decision which saw the departure of Birla, changed the course of the game and after that it was l Rajasthan all the way. Left-arm pacer Aniket Choudhary (4-0-24-0) and left-arm spinner Gajendra Singh (4-0-30-1) made life difficult for MP batsmen as none of them could get going and the team fell well beyond the target.
BRIEF SCORES
Rajasthan 177-5 in 20 overs (Ankit Lamba 74, Surya Prakash Suwalka 41, Naresh Gehlot 36*; Jatin Saxena 2-26, Ishwar Pandey, Amarjeet Singh and Jalaj Saxena one wicket each) beat MP 157-9 in 20 overs (Harpreet Singh 27, Mohnish Mishra 22, Jatin Saxena 20, Ishwar Pandey 19*; Aniket Choudhary 4-24, Deepak Chahar 2-32, Gajendra Singh and Pankaj Singh one wicket each) by 20 runs.
SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY: UP vs Rajsthan (9 am), MP vs Railways (2 pm).