Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Haryana pip Kerala to top Group E; Bihar qualify for knockouts unbeaten – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Mumbai: Haryana beat Kerala by four runs to qualify for the knock-out stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament with an all-win record in Group E in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Haryana thus topped the Elite Group E points table after winning all their five matches.

Put in to bat, Haryana rode on Shivam Chauhan’s 59 and a late onslaught by Rahul Tewatia (41 not out off 26 balls) to post a big total of 198/6. Later, their bowlers held their nerves to restrict Kerala to 194/6 and eke out a narrow win.

Haryana lost opener Arun Chaprana (10) and one-down Himanshu Rana (6) early and were reeling at 43/2. But, the other opener Chaitanya Bishnoi (45 off 29 balls; 6×4; 1×6) and Chauhan (59 off 34 balls; 6×4 and 2×6) forged a 43-run stand to steady their ship.

Later, Tewatia, one of the stars to emerge out of last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), took the onus on himself and plundered four fours and two sixes to guide the team to 198/6.

Sumit Kumar, who remained unbeaten on 21 off 10 balls with three fours and a six, ably supported Tewatia, as the duo added 52 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket.

For Kerala, two-down Sachin Baby top-scored with 68, but could not take his side home. They lost in-form opener Robin Uthappa (8) early.

Mohammed Azhauddeen (35) and skipper Sanju Samson (51) kept them in the hunt with their 81-run second wicket stand. However, the two perished in quick succession.

Haryana kept on making inroads while Baby, who hit three fours and six sixes in his 36-ball knock, tried to take the game deep but to no avail.

The result of the Mumbai vs Andhra match later in the day would not matter as both the teams have already bowed out of the tournament.

Brief Scores: At Wankhede Stadium: Haryana 198/6 (Shivam Chauhan 59, Chaitanya Bishnoi 45; Jalaj Saxena 2/25, Sachin Baby 2/26) beat Kerala 194/6 (Sachin Baby 68, Sanju Samson 51; Sumit Kumar 2/16, Arun Chaprana 2/49) by four runs.

At BKC: Delhi 192/5 (Kshitiz Sharma 65 not out, Himmat Singh 53; Ashith Rajiv 2/23, Rohit Damodaran 2/26) beat Puducherry 82 all out (Rohit D 14; Sheldon Jackson 13; Shivank Vashisth 4/9, Jonty Sidhu 2/7) by 110 runs.

Bihar register five wins in a row, qualifies for knockouts

Chennai: Bihar registered their fifth win on the trot, defeating Mizoram by six wickets in their final Plate group match to enter the knockout phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament in Chennai on Tuesday.

Bihar finished with five wins from as many matches and topped the group with 20 points, followed by Chandigarh and Nagaland (both 18 points).

Asked to bat, Mizoram batsmen never got going and crawled to 83 for eight in 20 overs.

Taruwar Kohli (33, 30 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) and Lalhruaizela (21, 36 balls, 2 fours) were the only batsmen to offer resistance as Bihar bowlers kept a tight leash.

Bihar skipper Ashutosh Aman, with his left-arm spin, led the way by picking up four wickets while giving away just 9 runs from his four overs. Leg-spinner Samar Quadri finished with two wickets.

Chasing 84 for victory, Bihar lost their openers early but Babul Kumar (37 not out, 34 balls, 4 fours) saw the team home.

In other matches on Tuesday, Chandigarh defeated Arunachal Pradesh by seven wickets while Nagaland beat Manipur by eight wickets.

Brief scores: At SSN Engineering College ground: Mizoram 83 for 8 in 20 overs (Taruwar Kohli 33, Ashutosh Aman 4/9) lost to Bihar 84 for 4 in 12.4 overs (Babul Kumar 37 not out) by six wickets. Bihar: 4 points, Mizoram:0.

At IC-Guru Nanak College ground: Arunachal Pradesh 56 for 8 in 20 overs (Bipul Sharma 3/5) lost to Chandigarh 62 for 3 in 7.1 overs (Arslan Khan 37 not out) by seven wickets. Chandigarh: 4 points, Arunachal:0.

At Sri Ramachandra Medical College ground: Sikkim 111 for 5 in 20 overs (Varun Sood 60 not out (50 balls, 5X4, 2X6), R Sanjay Yadav 2/24) lost to Meghalaya 112 for 2 in 17.3 overs (Punit Bisht 41 not out, Rohit Shah 38) by eight wickets. Meghalaya: 4 points, Sikkim: 0.

At TI Cycles Murugappa ground: Manipur 129 for 8 in 20 overs (Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 50 not out, Nitesh Sedai 37, Stuart Binny 3/27) lost to Nagaland 131 for 2 in 17.1 overs (Chetan Bist 60, Shrikant Mundhe 35 not out) by eight wickets. Nagaland: 4 points, Manipur: 0.