SMAT: Bowlers, Patidar fire Madhya Pradesh into the final

Madhya Pradesh thumped Delhi by seven wickets in the second semi-final in Bengaluru. Delhi chose to bat first, but their innings never gained momentum. Madhya Pradesh's bowlers were disciplined, and the spin duo of Shivam Shukla and Kumar Kartikeya put the brakes on the scoring.

Anuj Rawat and Mayank Rawat got some runs, but they came at a pace that barely worried the MP camp. Ishant Sharma tried to make a game out of it, but Madhya Pradesh counterattacked to take the game away in quick time. Harsh Gawli maximised the PowerPlay, and Rajat Patidar produced a whirlwind innings of 66* from just 29 deliveries.

Patidar put an unbroken 106-run stand with Harpreet Singh Bhatia, but mostly played second fiddle in the partnership with Patidar dominating proceedings. Once he got off the blocks quickly, the MP skipper used his strong game against spin to take down Delhi's tweakers.

Brief scores:

• Delhi: 146/5 in 20 overs (Anuj Rawat 33*)
• Madhya Pradesh: 152/3 in 15.4 overs (Rajat Patidar 66*, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 46*) by seven wickets.