Rahul helps Karnataka rout TN

SURAT: Opener KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 69 off 46 balls to help Karnataka thrash Tamil Nadu by nine wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament here on Thursday.

Batting first, TN reached 158 for seven with captain Dinesh Karthik making 43 off 29 balls and Washington Sundar scoring 39 off 25 balls. Karnataka got off to a roaring start as Rahul and D Padikkal put on 70 in 6.6 overs. Manish Pandey remained unbeaten 0n 52 as Karnataka romped home in 16.2 overs.

In another match, opener Shikhar Dhawan’s lean patch continued but Delhi still managed to register a comfortable 77-run win over Maharashtra.

Delhi made 167 for five after being invited to bat and produced a disciplined bowling effort to bundle out Maharashtra for 90 in 17.2 overs. Part-time off-spinner Nitish Rana stole the show with the ball with figures of four for 17.

But the spotlight was clearly on Dhawan (24 off 22 balls) after Delhi was put into bat and the left-handed opener started well in the company of Hiten Dalal (16 off 13 balls) as the duo put on 44 for the opening stand in 5.3 overs. Dhawan looked in good touch, hammering two fours and a six during his brief stay but yet again he threw away his wicket.

BRIEF SCORES: Delhi 167/5 (D Shorey 48*, H Singh 32; S Kazi 2-20) beat Maharashtra 90 all out (R Gaikwad 42, N Rana 4-17) by 77 runs