Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023: Nitish Rana Guided Uttar Pradesh to the Quarter-Final

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohsin Khan's superb bowling performance was complemented by Nitish Rana's brilliant half-century as Uttar Pradesh beat Gujarat by six wickets to enter the quarter-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali 2023 in Mohali.

Batting first, Gujarat managed a below-par 127 for 8 in 20 overs. UP crossed the target with eight balls to spare and never looked under pressure with Rana hitting 71 off 49 balls.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 3 for 21 in four overs while Mohsin returned with a brilliant figure of 2/13. Kartik Tyagi, one of the fastest pacers in the Indian domestic circuit, also bowled really well and didn't leak cheap boundaries. Saurav Chauhan (32 off 21 balls) was the highest scorer for Gujarat.

In reply, UP quickly lost a couple of wickets to be reduced to 22 for 2 at start of the fourth over but Rana along with Sameer Rizvi (30 off 39 balls) added 81 runs in 12.1 overs to put the team on the cusp of victory.

Rana's inning had seven fours and two sixes. It was Dhruv Jurel (13 not out), who ended the proceedings, hitting a four and a six off left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla.