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Baroda's road to the final

The Baroda team engages in a practice drill ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Round 1, v Orissa in Cuttack

Baroda 148 (Basanth Mohanty 5-31) and 414 for 6 (Rayudu 200*) drew with Orissa 352 (Podder 106)
Scorecard

It was a disastrous start for Baroda. Basanth Mohanty grabbed a five-for to knock them over for 148 before Orissa snatched a 204-run lead. Faced with the prospect of a defeat, Ambati Rayudu led Baroda's recovery with an explosive 200 that included 27 fours and three sixes. Baroda managed a draw and left the game with a point.

Round 2, v Haryana in Rohtak

Baroda 470 (Yusuf 195, Williams 114) beat Haryana 127 (Patel 4-34) and 310 (Bhatt 7-127) by an innings and 33 runs
Scorecard

Baroda roared back into the campaign with a commanding innings-win over Haryana. They chose to bowl , and Munaf Patal and Bhargav Bhatt, the left-arm spinner, shared seven wickets to bowl out Haryana for 127. Yusuf Pathan hit a blistering 195 from 138 deliveries, and Connor Williams hit a sedate 114 to propel Baroda to a 343-run lead. Bhatt, who went on to become the leading wicket-taking spinner in the tournament, picked up seven wickets in the second innings to bowl Baroda to a crushing win.

Round 3, v Uttar Pradesh in Vadodara

Uttar Pradesh 190 (Yusuf 5-41, Munaf 4-49) and 294 (Yusuf 5-83) beat Baroda 309 (Rayudu 91, Bhuvneshwar 4-51) and 143 (Tyagi 6-42, Bhuvneshwar 4-37) by 32 runs
Scorecard

Baroda suffered a reverse in a closely-fought encounter with Uttar Pradesh. They chose to bowl and Yusuf and Munaf shared nine wickets to shoot out UP for 190 before Rayudu's 91 gave them a 119-run lead. Yusuf picked another five-for in the second. Baroda were set a target of 176 but were routed by Sudeep Tyagi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Baroda had reached 89 for 2 at one stage, and 131 for 5 soon, but collapsed to be bowled out for 143, the last four wickets falling without adding a run.

Round 4, v Punjab in Vadodara

Baroda 416 (Rayudu 79, Williams 75) beat Punjab 243 (Bhatt 4-59) and 118 (Vahora 4-35) by an innings and 55 runs
Scorecard

Baroda bounced back by thumping Punjab by an innings and 55 runs. There was no centurion but nearly the entire top order contributed to push Baroda to 416. Punjab then collapsed twice, 243 in the first innings and 118 and in the second, as Bhatt yet again sparkled with a six-wicket match haul.

Round 5, v Karnataka in Mysore

Karnataka 257 (Vohra 4-65) and 391 for 8 decl (Verma 80) drew with Baroda 169 (Joshi 4-31) and 151 for 3
Scorecard

They took just a solitary point against Karnataka, who bounced back after falling for 257 in the first innings. Baroda were without Yusuf and Sunil Joshi ensured Karnataka took an 88-run lead with a four-wicket haul. Karnataka then racked up 391 and Baroda played out 55 overs to draw the game.

Round 6, v Himachal Pradesh in Vadodara

Baroda 350 (Pinal 132) beat Himachal Pradesh 119 (Bhatt 5-40) and 214 ( Yusuf 6-74) by an innings and 17 runs
Scorecard

Baroda yet again came roaring back with an innings win. Bhatt was once more the ringleader as he took five wickets to roll out Himachal Pradesh for 119 in the first innings. Pinal Shah starred with a measured 132 as Baroda gained a 231-run lead before Yusuf snatched six wickets in a facile win.

Quarter-final v Railways in Vadodara

Railways 248 (Munaf 4-88) and 366 (Awasthi 125) drew with Baroda 416 (Devdhar 122) and 136 for 3 (Devdhar 55); Baroda go through on their first-innings lead
Scorecard

Railways surprised Baroda by sending Murali Karthik as an opener, and he top-scored with 57 but Munaf picked up four wickets to bowl out the visitors for 248. Kedar Devdhar, a young find of the season, starred with 122 as Baroda ran away to a 168-run lead. Prashant Awasthi led Railways' recovery in the second innings with a hundred but could only set up a target of 199 runs. Baroda lost only three wickets and played out 60 overs to advance to the final four.

Semi-final v Karnataka in Vadodara

Baroda 153 (Pinal 83, Joshi 6-58) and 44 for 3 beat Karnataka 107 (Vahora 5-34) and 88 (Bhatt 5-30, Swapnil 5-20) by seven wickets
Scorecard

On an under-prepared track, Baroda beat Karnataka in a little over four sessions of play in a dramatic, and controversial, semi-final. Vahora grabbed a five-for after Baroda chose to bowl and bowled out Karnataka for 107 in 44.2 overs. Pinal played a captain's knock to top-score with a priceless 83 as Baroda took a 46-run lead. Karnataka collapsed for 88 in the second innings in just 32.2 overs; the spinners Bhatt and Swapnil Singh picked five wickets apiece. Baroda rushed to a famous win in 12.1 overs to enter the final.