TN, Chhattisgarh reach semis of Vijay Hazare
BENGALURU: Tamil Nadu reached the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on the basis of more wins than Punjab in the league stage after its quarter-final game was cut short by rain here on Monday.
Rain ended Mumbai’s campaign as Chhattisgarh made it to the semi-finals on the basis of more wins against its quarterfinal opponent in the league phase. Tamil Nadu had won nine out of nine matches in Group C, while Chhattisgarh emerged victorious in five out of eight games in Group A. Mumbai won four.
While Tamil Nadu will take on Gujarat in the semi-finals on Wednesday, host Karnataka will clash with Chhattisgarh on the same day.
Punjab restricted Tamil Nadu to 174 for six in 39 overs when rain stopped play. Tamil Nadu had a shaky start after openers Murali Vijay (22) and Abhinav Mukund (17) failed to convert starts.
But the in-form Baba Aparajith came up with a patient 76-ball 56 (2 fours, 2 sixes) to pull his side out of trouble. He lacked support as all-rounder Vijay Shankar (13) and skipper Dinesh Karthik (11) didn’t last long enough.
Thanks to Washington Sundar’s unbeaten 35 off 39 balls, Tamil Nadu breached the 170run mark.
Punjab was 52 for two in 12.2 overs, having lost opener Abhishek Sharma (6) and Anmolpreet Singh (9) when rain stopped play. The game was eventually called off.
In the other last eight game, in pursuit of a revised target of 195 from 39 overs, Mumbai was cruising at 95 for no loss in 11.3 overs with young Yashasvi Jaiswal batting on 60 (38 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes) and Aditya Tare on 31.
However, the skies opened up and the match was abandoned, ending Mumbai’s topsy-turvy campaign.
As per rules, Mumbai needed to bat a minimum of 20 overs to get a result in this game. But as the game was abandoned, Chhattisgarh qualified.
Put into bat at the Alur cricket stadium III, Mumbai bowlers did well to restrict Chhattisgarh to 190 for six in 45.4 overs, when play was halted due to rain.
Experienced medium-pacer Dhawal Kulkarni sent Chhattisgarh opener Jiwanjyot Singh Chauhan (0) back after he edged to keeper Tare.
Shardul Thakur got rid of Shashank Chandrakar to leave Chhattisgarh in trouble at 3 for 2.
Ashutosh Pratap Singh (27), who came in at one drop, was unable to convert his start as Chhattisgarh slipped to 40 for 3. Skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia (83) and Amandeep Khare (59 not out) led the recovery with a 135-run stand for the fourth wicket. Bhatia hit four boundaries and as many sixes in his 108-ball knock, while Khare hit four fours and a six.
However, when it looked like the duo was taking the game away from Mumbai, all-rounder Shubham Ranjane dismissed Bhatia and Chhattisgarh.
But their splendid bowling effort eventually went in vain.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 174 for 6 in 39 overs (Baba Aparajith 56, Washington Sundar 35 not out, Gurkeerat Singh 2 for 25) versus Punjab 52 for 2 in 12.2 overs; Chhattisgarh 190 for 6 in 45.4 overs (Harpreet Singh Bhatia 83, Amandeep Khare 59 not out, Dhawal Kulkarni 2 for 9) vs Mumbai 95 for no loss in 11.3 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 60 not out, Aditya Tare 31 not out)