Karnataka bowlers held their nerves to eke out a hard-fought one-run victory against a formidable Mumbai side in a Group D match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Cuttack on Sunday.
Chasing 163 for a win at the DRIEMS Ground in Tangi, Mumbai, at 111 for five in 14.2 overs, looked on course before Karnataka bowlers stopped them short at 161 all out.
Abhishek Nayar top-scored with 49 runs, while opener Shreyas Iyer (32) and skipper Aditya Tare (28) contributed with good starts, only to let it slip against a disciplined Karnataka attack.
Left-arm bowler Sreenath Aravind, medium-pacer Stuart Binny and leg-spinner KC Cariappa bagged two wickets each to help the R Vinay Kumar-led side pocket four useful points.
Earlier put into bat, Karnataka posted a formidable 162 all out in 20 overs with Binny top-scoring with 38 runs. Opener Mohammad Taha (37) and Robin Uthappa (30) also made useful contributions.
Pace spearhead Dhawal Kulkarni and medium-pacer Rohan Raje bagged three wickets each.
Brief Scores:
Karnataka: 162 all out in 20 overs (Stuart Binny 38, Mohammad Taha 37; Dhawal Kulkarni 3-35, Rohan Raje 3-29) vs Mumbai: 161 all out in 20 overs (Abhishek Nayar 49, Shreyas Iyer 32; Sreenath Aravind 2-32, Stuart Binny 2-20, KC Cariappa 2-32)
Points: Karnataka 4, Mumbai 0.
Tamil Nadu crush Bengal by 69 runs
Nagpur: A five-wicket haul by left-arm spinner Rahil Shah saw Tamil Nadu demolish Bengal by 69 runs in a Group A encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20.
Batting first, Tamil Nadu scored 151 for eight with Abhinav Mukund top-scoring with 41.
Seamer Alok Pratap Singh took 3/15 while Mohammed Shami scalped 2/30.
The India international now has five wickets from two games.
Shami will join the Indian ODI squad in Mumbai on Monday as they prepare to leave for the Australia One-Day tour on January 5.
In reply, Bengal were skittled out for 82 in 15.5 overs, with Rahil grabbing 5/12.
With Wriddhiman Saha (2) not scoring too many, skipper Manoj Tiwary's absence was felt with as many as nine players failing to reach double digits.
Only Shreevats Goswami (31) and Sudip Chatterjee (18) added 49 runs for the third wicket before Bengal lost their last eight wickets for only 24 runs.
Tamil Nadu now has won both their matches and have eight points while Bengal remain on 4 points from two games.
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 151/8 in 20 overs (Abhinav Mukund 41, Anthony Dhas 28, Alok Pratap Singh 3/15, Mohd Shami 2/30) vs Bengal 82 all out in 15.5 overs (Shreevats Goswami 31, Rahil Shah 5/12).
Gujarat crush Vidarbha by 60 runs
Nagpur: Gujarat registered a crushing 60-run victory over Vidarbha in the national T20 cricket championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Sent into bat in the Group A match, skipper Parthiv Patel led the way for Gujarat with a 38 ball 59, and put on 91 runs for the second wicket with Manpreet Juneja (37) at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha.
Parthiv struck six boundaries and a six during his quick-fire knock. Chirag Gandhi raced his way to an unbeaten 30 off a mere 19 balls with the help of two fours and a six to guide Gujarat to 174 for seven in 20 overs.
Ravi Jangid and Ravikumar Thakur picked up two wickets apiece.
In reply, hosts Vidarbha were all out for 114 in 18.4 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah (3/16 in 3.4 overs), R P Singh (3/26) and Hardik Patel (3/36) were the main wicket-takers for Gujarat.
Brief scores: Gujarat: 174/7 in 20 overs (Parthiv Patel 59) vs Vidarbha: 114 all out in 18.4 20 overs (Jasprit Bumrah 3/16, R P Singh 3/26).
Harbhajan stars in Punjab's 8-wicket win over J&K
Kochi: Skipper Harbhajan Singh bowled a deadly spell to record figures of 3/8 in 4 overs as Punjab thrashed Jammu and Kashmir by 8 wickets in a one-sided group B of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.
Batting first, Jammu and Kashmir were all out for a paltry 105 in 19.3 overs with Bandeep Singh being the top-scorer (40).
In reply, Punjab scored the runs in 14.3 overs with Mandeep Singh scoring unbeaten 58 off 45 balls. Opener Pargat Singh scored 44 and added 97 for second wicket with Mandeep.
Leading from the front, Harbhajan brought himself as the second change, got the two most important players in the rival team in skipper Mithun Manhas (6) and Parveez Rasool (2).
He also removed Zahoor Sofi (1) as J&K's middle-order crumbled as they were reduced to 79/6 from a relatively safer 69/3.
The win was also Punjab's first in the tournament having lost the opening encounter to Rajasthan on Saturday.
The other India player in the team Yuvraj Singh did not get much chance as his solitary over cost him 9 runs and he did not get a chance to bat.
Brief scores: Jammu and Kashmir: 105 in 19.3 overs (Bandeep Singh 40, Ian Dev Singh 39, Harbhajan Singh 3/8) vs Punjab 108/2 in 14.3 overs (Mandeep singh 58 not out, Pargat Singh 44). Punjab won by 8 wickets.
Virat, Jaggi help Jharkhand beat Tripura
Kochi: Openers Virat Singh and Ishant Jaggi struck scintillating half-centuries as Jharkhand scored a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Tripura in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match.
Chasing 147 for a win, Jharkhand easily overhauled the target with nine balls to spare thanks to brilliant knocks by Virat (65) and Jaggi (75 not out) at the Nehru Stadium.
Virat, who hit four boundaries and as many sixes in his 48-ball knock, and Jaggi, who struck five fours and three sixes in his 54-ball unbeaten innings, stitched 103 runs for the opening wicket in 13.5 overs to fashion the win for Jharkhand.
Saurabh Tiwary (7 not out) was the other unbeaten batsman as Jharkhand reached 150 for 1 in 18.3 overs to wrap up the Group B match.
Earlier, Tripura scored 146 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs after being sent into bat, riding on Rajat Dey's superb unbeaten 77 which he made from 50 balls with the help of two boundaries and six sixes. None of his other batting colleagues could cross 20.
For Jharkhand, Shahbaz Nadeem was the most successful bowler with 3/18 while Prakash Seet and Vikash Singh took two and one wicket respectively.
Brief Scores: Tripura: 146/7 in 20 overs (Rajat Dey 77 not out; Shahbaz Nadeem 3/18) vs Jharkhand: 150 for 1 in 18.3 overs (Virat Singh 65, Ishant Jaggi 75 not out; Chiranjit Paul 1/30).
MP beat Goa by seven wickets
Vadodara: Madhya Pradesh recorded an easy win over Goa by seven wickets in the national T20 cricket championship for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
In the Group C match, Madhya Pradesh, who chose to bowl after winning the toss, restricted Goa to 104 for six in the stipulated 20 overs, and then comfortably chased down the target of 105 with as many as 25 balls to spare at the at Moti Bagh Stadium.
Deepraj Gaonkar top-scored for the visiting side with 44 off 35 balls, hitting three boundaries and two sixes. None of the other Goa batsmen did anything noteworthy.
Harpreet Singh, with figures of 3/15 in four overs, was the most successful bowler for MP.
In reply, MP got a flying start through Zafar Ali's brisk 17-ball 27. He found the fence five times. Jalaj S Saxena (24), Naman Ojha (20), Venkatesh Iyer (17 not out) and Harpreet Singh (16) were the other batsmen to have made substantial contributions. Shadab Jakati picked up two wickets for 22 in four overs for Goa.
Brief scores:
Goa: 104/6 in 20 overs (Deepraj Gaonkar 44; Harpreet Singh 2/15) vs Madhya Pradesh: 106/3 in 15.5 overs Zafar Ali 27; Shadab Jakati 2/22).
Nitish Rana sizzles as Delhi hammer Andhra by 111 runs
Vadodara: Youngster Nitish Rana played a brillant counter-attacking innings of 97 from 40 balls as Delhi cantered home by 111 runs against Andhra in a Group C match of the Syed Mushtaq T20 tournament.
Delhi put an imposing total on the board as they plundered 236 for 9 in 20 overs.
However, they were down in the dumps at 40 for four with skipper Gautam Gambhir (18) and Unmukt Chand (0) back in the pavilion.
But then, left-hander Rana launched a brutal counter assault with eight fours and eight sixes as he got 80 runs in boundaries from 16 balls. He got able support from the dependable Milind Kumar whose 58 came off only 28 balls with six boundaries and three sixes.
Together, the duo added a whopping 119 runs in 9.1 overs for the fifth wicket.
But it was the next partnership for the sixth wicket that was even more exhilarating as Rana and Pawan Negi (22 no in 14 balls) added 51 runs in only 2.4 overs before the 22-year-old was bowled trying to hoick left-arm spinner B Sudhakar out of the ground.
In reply, Andhra were bowled out for 125 in 19.2 overs.
The chase was out of question for minnows Andhra and they were kept under relentless pressure by the Delhi bowlers.
Ashish Nehra only bowled two overs giving away 13 runs and got a wicket in the bargain.
Medium pacer Subodh Bhati again bowled his slowers to take 2/13 while Negi and off-break bowler Shivam Sharma also got two wickets apiece.
Delhi now have eight points from two matches.
Brief Scores: Delhi: 236/9 in 20 overs (Nitish Rana 97, Milind Kumar 58, Pawan Negi 22 no, CV Stephen 5/52) vs Andhra Pradesh: 125 in 19.2 overs (SK Ramesh 37, Subodh Bhati 2/13, Ashish Nehra 1/13). Delhi won by 111 runs.
Bowlers set up 14-run win for Hyderabad
Nagpur: Hyderabad put up an impressive bowling effort to beat by Himachal Pradesh by 14 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.
Hyderabad managed to restrict Himachal to 126/9 in 20 overs after making 140/9 with Ashish Reddy being the top-scorer at 37.
Mohammed Siraj (2/22), Chama Milind (3/34) and Akash Bhandari (2/18) stood out with the ball for Hyderabad.
Brief scores:Hyderabad 149/ in 20 overs (Ashish Reddy 37; Akshay Chauhan 4/25) vs Himachal Pradesh 126/9 in 20 overs (Ankush Bains 25; Chama Milind 3/34).
Gupta fifty, spinners fire UP to close win over Odisha
Cuttack: Opener Prashant Gupta struck a quick-fire fifty before spinners turned on the heat to help Uttar Pradesh outplay Odisha by 32 runs in the Group D Twenty20 cricket match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday.
Put into bat at the Barabati Stadium, UP rode on a 84-run second wicket partnership between Gupta (53) and captain Eklavya Dwivedi (47) to post a challenging 150 for five in 20 overs.
UP spinners, Amit Mishra, Kuldeep Yadav and Piyush Chawla, then shared two wickets apiece to help UP restrict Odisha to 118 for eight.
Pace spearhead Praveen Kumar, who shared a wicket with new-ball partner Ankit Rajpoot, gave UP their first breakthrough and then the spinners soon spun into action.
Odisha’s Roshan Kumar Rao top-scored with a gutsy 31 not out, while skipper Govinda Poddar hit 22 runs as rest of the batting disappointed.
Brief Scores:
Uttar Pradesh 150/5 in 20 overs (Prashant Gupta 53, Eklavya Dwivedi 47; Alok Chandra Sahoo 2-23, Biplab Samantray 2-17) vs Odisha 118/8 in 20 overs (Roshan Kumar Rao 31 not out,
Govinda Poddar 22; Amit Mishra 2-32, Kuldeep Yadav 2-24, Piyush Chawla 2-18)
Points: Uttar Pradesh 4, Odisha 0.
Naik fifty helps Maharashtra outplay Services by 31 runs
Cuttack: Wicketkeeper-batsman Nikhil Naik's 46-ball 69 helped Maharashtra outplay Services by 31 runs in the Group D Twenty cricket match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Electing to bat at the Barabati Stadium, Maharashtra rode on a third-wicket 59-run partnership between Naik and captain Kedar Jadhav (36) to post a challenging 159 for eight in 20 overs.
Medium-pacer Nitin Yadav bagged three wickets, while Raushan Raj and Sumit Singh picked up two scalps apiece.
In reply, Services batsmen got starts only to let it go as Maharashtra off-spinners, Shamshuzama Kazi and Swapnil Gugale bagged three wickets apiece.
Brief Scores: Maharashtra: 159/8 in 20 overs (Nikhil Naik 69, Kedar Jadhav 36; Nitin Yadav 3-50) vs Services: 128 all out in 18.3 overs (Soumya Swain 27, Rajat Paliwal 25, Sumit Singh 24; Shamshuzama Kazi 3-25, Swapnil Gugale 3-18)
Points:Maharashtra 4, Services 0.
Baroda beat Railways by 9 runs
Vadodara: Baroda eked out a hard-fought nine-run win over Railways to register their second win in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament.
Opting to bat, Baroda rode on Hardik Pandya's 44-ball 54 and Yusuf Pathan's run-a-ball 41 to score 142 for the loss of five wickets.
Ranjit Mali picked up two wickets for Railways, giving away 21 euns.
Chasing the target, Birendra Vivek Singh struck a 43-ball 46 but that was not enough to take Railways over the line as they finished on 133 for the loss of six wickets.
Deepak Hooda was the pick of the bowler for Baroda, scalping three wickets for 23 runs.
Brief Scores:
Baroda: 142 for for five in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 54, Yusuf Pathan 41; Ranjit Mali 2/21) vs Railways: 133 for six in 20 overs (Birendra Vivek Singh 46; Deepak Hooda 3/23).
Image: Stuart Binny
Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
