SMAT: Tamil Nadu’s terrific (A)run continues
AHMEDABAD: KB Arun Karthik led Tamil Nadu into its second successive Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final with an unbeaten 89-run knock, which shaped the team’s seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan in the first semi-final here on Friday.
Arun Karthik’s 89-run partnership with skipper Dinesh Karthik (26 not out) meant that Tamil Nadu overhauled the 155-run target with eight balls to spare. Tamil Nadu had lost the 2019-20 season summit clash by just one run to Karnataka in Surat.
Rajasthan’s decision to bat first at the Motera Stadium backfired as Tamil Nadu restricted it to a sub-par 154 for nine despite skipper Ashok Menaria’s 51 off 32 balls. Rajasthan lost opener Bharat Sharma (0) in the first over as Baba Aparajith grabbed a diving catch off left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (2 for 16).
Aditya Garhwal (29) took on medium pacer Aswin Crist, striking successive boundaries in the third over, but perished in the fifth over. Menaria also launched into Crist, hammering three boundaries and a six in the sixth over.
The left-handed Menaria, whose knock was laced with five fours and two sixes, raised a 83-run third-wicket stand with Arjit Gupta (45 off 35). Tamil Nadu, initially, was sloppy in the field and dropped three catches, including one from Menaria. But, the Dinesh Karthik-led team pegged Rajasthan back by taking two quick wickets.
Sai Kishore dismissed well-set Menaria while Mahipal Lomror (3) also fell cheaply as Rajasthan slumped to 129 for four. Rajasthan then suffered a collapse, with the southern side storming back into the contest. Tamil Nadu picked up regular wickets and pacer M Mohammed (4 for 24) did bulk of the damage.
In the final five overs, Rajasthan lost five wickets and added only 24 runs. Chasing 155 for a win, Tamil Nadu lost opener C Hari Nishaanth (4) early when he was trapped in front of the wicket by Tanveer-Ul-Haq (1 for 22). Tamil Nadu was in a spot of bother at 17 for two after Aparajith (2) was caught in the slip cordon.
But, Narayan Jagadeesan (28) and Arun Karthik came to the rescue as they put together 52 runs for the third wicket. Leggie Ravi Bishnoi (1 for 32) tried to bring Rajasthan back into the game by removing Jagadeesan as Tamil Nadu lost its third wicket on 69.
But it cruised past the line, thanks to the duo of Arun Karthik and Dinesh Karthik, who tore apart the Rajasthan attack. Arun Karthik hammered nine boundaries and three sixes during his match-winning knock and fittingly finished the game with a boundary. In the other semi-final, Baroda defeated Punjab by 25 runs and set up a date with Tamil Nadu.
BRIEF SCORES: Semi-final 1: Rajasthan 154 for 9 in 20 overs (A Menaria 51, A Gupta 45, M Mohammed 4/24) lost to Tamil Nadu 158 for 3 in 18.4 overs (Arun Karthik 89*)
Semi-final 2: Baroda 160 for 3 in 20 overs (K Devdhar 64, K Kakade 53*) beat Punjab 135 for 8 in 20 overs (L Meriwala 3/28)