Karthik’s solid 93 powers Tamil Nadu to Deodhar final
Riding on a 93 from Dinesh Karthik and 71 from Narayan Jagadeesan, Tamil Nadu thrashed India A by 73 runs to enter the final of the Deodhar Trophy here on Monday.
Tamil Nadu will face India B in the final on Wednesday.
Karthik and Jagadeesan put on 159 runs for the third wicket to help their side cross the 300-run mark, which proved to be too much for India A at the end. Baba Indrajith and Vijay Shankar played cameos in the end to steer the team to 303 for six in 50 overs.
In reply, India A based their innings on Mandeep Singh’s 97 but wickets falling regularly at the other end saw them lose track and eventually the match.
Till the time Krunal Pandya was with Mandeep, the Harbhajan Singh-led side was in with a chance. However, once Pandya fell, there was no resistance.
HARBHAJAN FLOPS
The former India off-spinner had failed to impress in the first half of the match as he picked just one wicket giving away 57 runs in eight overs, allowing Tamil Nadu to run away. Shardul Thakur picked three for India A.
The Tamil Nadu bowlers were on the money. Rahil Shah and Sai Kishore picked three wickets each to deal regular blows to India A side.
India A’s chase began very well with Mayank Agarwal and Mandeep cantering to 31 in just four overs. After Agarwal’s dismissal, Ambati Rayudu walked in and chipped in with 21. Rayudu put on 35 with Mandeep before he gave a catch back to bowler Sai Kishore.Mandeep then joined hands with Krunal Pandya and the two added 72 runs to set the team on course.
TIWARY RUN OUT
However, after Pandya’s fall, Mandeep’s partnership with Manoj Tiwary was going to be crucial. But Tiwary was run out and soon Rishabh Pant was sent back by off-spinner Washington Sundar.
Deepak Hooda hung around for a while, hitting a four and two sixes but the target proved too much for the lower half as they folded for 230 runs.
India B had won both their opening matches with Shikhar Dhawan starring for them with a century and a half-century. The Parthiv Patel-led India B has racked up scores in excess of 300 in both the matches.