Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: Jharkhand, Delhi qualify for super league

Jharkhand and Delhi Saturday qualified for the Super League stage of the Syed Musthaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament from Group 'A' with comfortable wins here over Kerala and Nagaland respectively.

Jharkand overhauled Kerala's score of 176 for 6 in the final over when former India ODI cricketer Saurabh Tiwary smashed a six over covers off Sandeep Warrier.

Kerala made an exit following today's loss.

In the other match, Delhi restricted Nagaland to 118 and romped home in 12.3 overs, thanks to Hiten Dalal's 81 (6X4, 7X6), but was unable to pip Jharkhand on net run-rate after both teams finished on 20 points.

Kerala captain Sachin Baby won the toss and chose to bat in a virtual shoot-out for a spot in the super league and the openers-Vishnu Vinod (27, 20 balls, 4X4) and Rohan Kunnummal (34, 25 balls, 2X4, 3X6) provided a good start.

India discard Varun Aaron proved expensive, spraying the ball around and was tonked for 35 runs in 3 overs.

Vinod fell to the impressive Vikash Singh, edging one to 'keeper Ishan Kishan.

Rohan, meanwhile, was not afraid to go for the big hits and smashed three sixes and the captain was also able to find the boundary.

The fall of Rohan brought Vinoop Manoharan (31, 28 balls, 2X4, 1X6) to the crease and with Baby, he was involved in a fruitful 61-run stand in seven overs.

Baby and Manoharan went for their shots and also ran well between the wickets.

The dismissals of Baby (36, 3X4, 1X6) and Manoharan in the space of two overs pegged Kerala back.

After Mohammed Azharudeen (8) and K B Arun Karthick (6) fell in quick succession, left-hander Salman Nazir (21, 8 balls, 1X4, 2X6) with his big blows was able to provide the impetus and take the score to 176.

In reply, Jharkhand lost captain Ishan Kishan (1) in the third over, but the aggressive Anand Singh (72, 47 balls, 11X4, 2X6) and southpaw Virat Singh (46, 29 balls, 7X4, 1X6) took the attack to the Kerala bowlers.

The two were particulary severe on M D Nidheesh (0 for 43 in 4 overs) and Vinoop Manoharan (1 for 50 in 4 overs) and provided a good platform for Jharkhand.

The experienced Tiwary, renowned for his big hitting, clobbered five sixes in his 24-ball 50 to see the team, despite a mild wobble which saw Ishank Jaggi and Kumar Deobrat fall for ducks.

In the Delhi-Nagaland encounter, Subodh Bhati's four wicket haul helped the former bowl out its rival for 118. Dalal's power-packed knock ensured that Delhi coasted to victory.

Bengal join Karnataka in super league

Riding on their seamers' tidy show, Bengal grabbed a Super League spot from Group D with an eight-wicket win over hosts Odisha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here Saturday.

Bengal finished with 20 points from seven matches to become the second team to qualify after Karnataka who topped group D with an all-win record.

Sent in, Karnataka suffered a batting collapse to be restricted for a modest 138 for nine. But their bowlers rose to the occasion to choke Haryana's run chase and script a thrilling last over win by 14 runs at the DRIEMS Ground in Tangi.

Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal claimed 3/16, while seamer Prasidh Krishna (3/25) also bagged a three-wicket haul to derail Haryana's run-chase.

In a must-win match for Bengal at the Barabati Stadium, seamers Ishan Porel (3/19) and Ayan Bhattacharjee (2/13) did not allow Odisha let loose, taking wickets at regular intervals as the hosts managed a paltry 108 for nine.

In reply, Wriddhiman Saha anchored the chase with a 31-ball 52 (5x4, 3x6) before vice-captain Abhimanyu Easwaran sealed the win with 44 balls to spare.

"I'm very happy that we qualified on our own merit. Our team played really well today. Ayon and Ishan have shown their consistency which has really helped us," skipper Manoj Tiwary said.

"The batsmen have also been contributing in the last two games. Wriddhiman played another good innings today and Easwaran took us home. Yes really happy and satisfied with our team performance," he added.

Tamil Nadu fail to make super league

Murli Vijay struck a breath-taking hundred as Tamil Nadu defeated Meghalaya by 92 runs in their last Group B match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament here Saturday.

However, the win was not enough for Tamil Nadu to make it to the knock-out stage, as they ended on the fourth position in Group B.

Electing to bat first, Tamil Nadu rode on Vijay's 107 off 67 balls to post a massive 213/2 on the board and later restricted Meghalaya to 121/4 at the Lalabhai Contractor stadium here.

Vijay and opener Washington Sundar (53 off 37 balls) laid the foundation for a big score with a 139-run stand for the first wicket.

While Sundar struck five fours and two sixes, Vijay was more aggressive, hitting nine fours and five sixes.

Sundar's fall in the 15thover did not deter Vijay from playing his shots. He got able support from R Vivek (36 not out off 14 balls).

Vijay departed soon after bringing up his hundred, but he had taken Tamil Nadu past the 200-run mark.

All Meghalaya bowlers had an off day in the field.

Meghalaya were never in the hunt while chasing and lost wickets at regular intervals.

Leggie Murugan Ashwin shone with the ball to return with figures of 2-16, while skipper Ravichandran Ashwin and medium-pacer M Mohammed grabbed a wicket each, as they restricted Meghalaya for 121/4.

For Meghalaya, Gurinder Singh top scored with unbeaten 38.

From Group B, Vidarbha with 20 points are at the top and are through to the next round.

Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu had 16 points each, but hosts Gujarat with a better net run rate scraped through to the knock-out stage.

Saurashtra registered a five-wicket win against Goa in their last Group C league game. Saurashtra are already out of contention for a spot in the knock-out stage.

From Group C, Railways and domestic veterans Mumbai have made it to the knock-out stage.

The knock-out stage will commence from March 8, with all the matches to be played in Indore.