All-round Harbhajan sinks Gujarat

Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh shone with bat and ball, first slamming a rapid half-century and then picking up two wickets, to help his team reach the quarter-finals after downing Gujarat by 28 runs in Rajkot.
Having been inserted, Punjab were precariously placed at 70 for 3 before Amitoze Singh and Gurkeerat Singh Mann led a recovery with a 104-run stand. Gurkeerat was the more aggressive foil, blasting 72 off 69 balls, while Amitoze hit 75, with eight fours. Both batsmen fell in successive overs, but Harbhajan, coming in at No.6, smashed two fours and six sixes during a 25-ball 51 to lift the score to 255 for 8.
Most of Gujarat's batsmen made starts during the chase, but failed to convert it into a substantial score. The No.9 batsman Rohit Dahiya was the team's top scorer with 53, but his knock was too little too late, as Gujarat were bundled out for 227 in 47.3 overs. Sandeep Sharma was the pick of Punjab's bowlers, taking 3 for 39 to rattle Gujarat's top order. Harbhajan chipped in with 2 for 51, while Yuvraj Singh, who had failed to fire with the bat, claimed 2 for 21.