Pant stars in Delhi win; Punjab down Karnakata in thriller

KOLKATA: Rishabh Pant cracked a fourth successive fifty-plus score to lead Delhi’s eight-wicket rout of Tamil Nadu while Baroda, Mumbai and Punjab also secured wins in their respective Super League matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, here on Sunday.

Veterans Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh dug deep into their reservoir of experience as star-studded Punjab held their nerves to pip Karnataka via eliminator in a group A match at the Jadavpur University second campus ground.

In the second group A match, Virat Singh’s sterling 81 off 49 balls (3x6s, 6x4s) went in vain as Jharkhand faltered while chasing 171 to pave the way for Mumbai’s 13-run win.

In the group B fixtures at Eden Gardens, Pant made mockery of the 146-run chase as his 33-ball 58 (7x4s, 3x6s) saw Delhi cruise home with 5.4 overs to spare.

Pant, who hit his sixth T20 half-century, later limped off the ground after sustaining an ankle injury but coach KP Bhaskar said it was minor in nature and he would be available for their match against Baroda tomorrow. Opener Gautam Gambhir, the two-time IPL winning Kolkata Knight Riders skipper who was released this season, made a run-a-ball 21 (2x4s, 1x6) and along with Pant put on 43 runs off 33 balls for the opening wicket.

Put in, Tamil Nadu scored 145 for seven with captain Vijay Shankar leading from the front with a 57 not out off 48 balls (4x4s, 3x6s) and along with Baba Aparajith (45 off 32, 7x4s) put together 92 runs to rescue TN.