SMAT: Baroda faces Mumbai in a clash of heavyweights;

Hardik Pandya will be a key player for Baroda when it takes on Mumbai in the semifinal of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament in Bengaluru on Friday.

Baroda takes on Mumbai in a heavyweight Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy semifinal clash at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday.

Baroda’s Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya will face a star-studded Mumbai line-up, which boasts of pure batting match-winners in Prithvi Shaw, Ajinkya Rahane, captain Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav. In Shivam Dube and Suryansh Shegde, Mumbai also has two quality finishers.

The Baroda bowling line-up has been on song in this tournament, and is expected to test the Mumbai batters. Right-arm pacer Atit Sheth and left-arm seamer Lukman Meriwala have 13 and 12 tournaments wickets respectively, while left-arm spinner Krunal has tightened the screws with miserly spells.

Baroda will hope that the Pandya brothers come good with the bat. Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik, who has recorded two fifties, is the danger man. Krunal, however, has not been among the runs.

In the second semifinal, Delhi faces Madhya Pradesh in a battle of equals. The Delhi top-order of Priyansh Arya, Yash Dhull and captain Ayush Badoni has found form, providing the best platform for the likes of Anuj Rawat and Himmat Singh to apply the finishing touches.

Rawat found his groove on Wednesday, smacking an unbeaten 33-ball 73 to dismantle Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh’s Rajat Patidar is the batting mainstay, with three fifties at an average of 40.14. Harpreet Singh and Subhranshu Senapati can hold fort, while skipper Venkatesh Iyer contributes with bat and ball.

Rain, meanwhile, could interrupt proceedings. While the games are unlikely to be completely washed out, there could be a reduction in overs.

Semifinal line-up: At M. Chinnaswamy Stadium: 11 a.m.: Baroda v Mumbai.

4.30 p.m.: Delhi v Madhya Pradesh.