Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Urvil’s 37-ball 119 powers Gujarat to 8-wicket win

Skipper Urvil Patel went on a six-hitting spree en route to a ruthless unbeaten 119 as Gujarat blew away Services by eight wickets to open their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign on a rampaging note in a Group C fixture here on Wednesday.

Patel, making his debut as T20 captain, made a mockery of the Services attack, smashing 12 fours and 10 sixes in his whirlwind 37-ball assault.

The 27-year-old, retained by Chennai Super Kings, raced to his century in just 31 balls—the second-fastest T20 hundred by an Indian.

Patel and Abhishek Sharma jointly hold the record for the fastest T20 hundred by an Indian, having reached the mark in 28 balls in the 2024-25 edition against Tripura and Meghalaya respectively.

In 2023, Patel had also struck a 41-ball ton against Chandigarh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The wicket-keeper batter shared a blistering 174-run opening stand with Aarya Desai (60 off 35) to overhaul the target of 183 in just 12.3 overs at the Gymkhana Ground.

Earlier, sent in to bat, Services managed 182 for nine with opener Gaurav Kochar top-scoring with a 37-ball 60 studded with seven fours and two sixes.

Their innings never really took off as wickets fell regularly, with Arzan Nagwaswalla (2/38) and Hemang Patel (2/21) picking up two apiece.

At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Punjab began their campaign with a five-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh.

Opting to bowl, Punjab restricted HP to 147 for eight, with none of the batters, including Innesh Mahajan (33) and Nikhil Gangta (35), able to convert starts.

Harpreet Brar (2/14) and Gurnoor Brar (2/32) claimed two wickets each.

In reply, Punjab cruised to 153 for five in 13.5 overs, powered by Anmolpreet Singh (43) and Salil Arora (36).

In another Group C match, Puducherry defeated Haryana by five runs.

Pougajendy Akash smashed a 23-ball 60 as Puducherry posted 201 for nine, riding on a solid show by the top and middle-order batsmen after Haryana opted to bowl.

In reply, Haryana could only manage 196 for six, despite a 47-ball 90 by opener Arsh Ranga and a 31-ball 52 by Yashvardhan Dalal.

Skipper Aman Khan (4/28) was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets.

Brief Scores:

Gujarat 183/2 in 12.3 overs (Urvil Patel 119 not out; Mohit Rathee 2/39) beat Services 182/9 in 20 overs (Gaurav Kochar 60; Arzan Nagwaswalla 2/38, Hemang Patel 2/21) by 8 wickets

Punjab 153/5 in 13.5 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 43; Vaibhav Arora 2/23) beat Himachal Pradesh 147/8 in 20 overs (Innesh Mahajan 33, Nikhil Gangta 35; Harpreet Brar 2/14).

Puducherry 201 for nine in 20 overs (Pougajendy Akash 60; Nishant Sindhu 2/28) beat Haryana 196 for 6 in 20 overs (Arsh Ranga 90; Aman Khan 4/28) by five runs.