Cheteshwar Pujara’s maiden Twenty20 century was the highlight on the opening day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2019, although it wasn’t enough for Saurashtra to emerge victorious.
Elsewhere, Manish Pandey starred in Karnataka’s win while the R Ashwin-led Tamil Nadu went down to Rajasthan.
Here are the takeaways:
Pujara’s ton goes in vain
Pujara scored his maiden T20 century but that wasn’t enough to stop Railways from beginning the tournament with a victory in Indore. Pujara scored an unbeaten 61-ball 100, the first T20 ton by the Saurashtra batsman, helping his side post 188 for 3 in 20 overs. Opening the batting, Pujara added 85 for the opening wicket with Harvik Desai (34 off 24) before adding 82 for the second wicket with Robin Uthappa (46 off 31). Pujara hit 14 fours and a six in his knock.
Railways, however, got home with two balls to spare for a five-wicket win. They had contributions throughout the order, starting with openers Mrunal Devdhar (49 off 20) and Pratham Singh (40 off 30). Abhinav Dixit (37* off 30), Ashish Yadav (24 off 16) and Harsh Tyagi (16* off 7) applied the finishing touches.
Suresh Raina fails, Uttar Pradesh lose to Maharashtra
Raina scored just 5 off 5 as UP went down to Maharashtra by 12 runs at the Airforce Complex ground, Palam in New Delhi. Chasing 150, UP were bowled out for 137 in 19.3 overs despite opener Samarth Singh scoring 93 off 61. Only Akshdeep Nath got to double-digits apart from Samarth.
Ashwin’s Tamil Nadu lose to Rajasthan
Mahipal Lomror’s 52-ball 78 followed by Deepak Chahar (3 for 30) and Khaleel Ahmed (3 for 14)’s efforts with the ball helped Rajasthan win by 53 runs. Rajasthan scored 181 for 4 in 20 overs after being asked to bat first. Ashwin bowled four wicketless overs for 26 runs. Tamil Nadu’s batsmen failed in response and were bowled out for 128 in 19.5 overs, with Shahrukh Khan top scoring with 23.
Captain Pandey leads Karnataka to win over Assam
Manish Pandey scored 74 off 39 balls as Karnataka beat Assam by by 15 runs in Cuttack. Karnataka scored 169 for 6 thanks to the skipper’s effort. Assam were struggling at 61 for 5 at one stage before Wasiqur Rahman (62 off 41) and Rajjakuddin Ahmed (53 off 34) provided a late fightback with a 63-run stand. However, Assam only managed 154 for 7 in their 20 overs.
Pondicherry stun Hyderabad
Playing their first Syded Mushtaq Ali tournament, Pondicherry stunned Hyderabad for a three-wicket win in Palam. Paras Dogra scored a 48-ball 89 with seven fours and six sixes to help Pondicherry score 159 for 6 in 20 overs. Hyderabad managed only 156 for 9 in their response, with opener Akshath Reddy unbeaten on 69 off 51. Thamaraikannan Parandaman picked 4 for 39.
Jharkhand beat Delhi
Virat Singh’s 70 pipped Dhruv Shorey’s 70 as Jharkhand beat Delhi by three runs in a thriller in Vijayawada. Jharkhand posted 158 for 4 in their 20 overs with No. 3 Virat unbeaten on 70 off 49. Delhi’s no. 3, Shorey, led their chase with a 55-ball 70 but his dismissal in the 17th over turned the game. Delhi needed 36 from the last three overs but fell three short. Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Shukla picked up two wickets each.
Shreyas Iyer and Abhimanyu Easwaran slam tons, Mumbai and Bengal Win Easy
Easwaran scored an unbeaten 107 off 56 balls, taking Bengal to 221 for 4 against Mizoram. Legspinner Prayas Barman then picked up four wickets as Mizoram were bowled out for just 62.
The story was similar in the Mumbai v Sikkim match. Iyer blasted his way to 147 off just 55 balls, studded with seven fours and 15 sixes. Sikkim managed only 104 for 7 in 20 overs in their reply, as Mumbai won by 154 runs.
Brief scores:
Himachal 167/8 vs Vidarbha 171/7: Vidarbha won by 3 wickets
Baroda 101/2 v Tripura 100: Baroda Won by 8 Wickets
Mumbai 258/4 vs Sikkim 104/7: Mumbai Won by 154 Runs
Kerala 186/5 vs Manipur 103/7: Kerala Won by 83 Runs
Services 164/5 vs Uttarakhand 165/7: Uttarakhand Won by 3 Wickets
Bengal 221/4 vs Mizoram 62: Bengal Won by 159 Runs
Haryana 110/2 vs Arunachal Pradesh 106/6: Haryana Won by 8 Wickets
Tamil Nadu 128 vs Rajasthan 181/4 : Rajasthan Won by 53 Runs
Gujarat 146/8 vs Meghalaya 133/8: Gujarat Won by 13 Runs
Railways 190/5 vs Saurashtra 188/3: Railways Won by 5 Wickets
Maharashtra 149/5 vs Uttar Pradesh 137: Maharashtra Won by 12 Runs
Hyderabad 156/9 vs Pondicherry 159/6: Pondicherry Won by 3 Runs
Chhattisgarh 138/0 vs Odisha 137: Chhattisgarh Won by 10 Wickets
Assam 154/7 vs Karnataka 169/6: Karnataka Won by 15 Runs
J & K 142/1 vs Nagaland 136/6: J & K Won by 9 Wickets
Delhi 155/5 vs Jharkhand 158/4: Jharkhand Won by 3 Runs