Suresh Raina continued his imperious form with a third successive half century as Uttar Pradesh kept their final hopes alive with a resounding seven- wicket win over Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Wednesday.
Chasing 193 for a win, Uttar Pradesh were in trouble with 0/1 in the first ball but Raina and opener Umang Sharma smashed a match- winning 160-run partnership off 90 balls. Raina hit a 47-ball 56 while Sharma smashed a career best 95 of 47 balls.
Five runs shy of a century, Sharma edged Atit Sheth behind the stumps as he along with Raina got out in space of six balls with 33 needed off 24, but Rinku Singh applied the finishing touches with an unbeaten 26 off 11. They now have two wins from three matches.
With eight points from three matches each, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will clash in a virtual semi-final on Thursday to determine the finalist from Group B.
Karun Nair on fire
Karnataka captain Karun Nair smashed a 51-ball century against Jharkhand. Nair’s innings included seven sixes and eight fours and played at a strike rate of 192.31. Nair was involved in a 130-run partnership with Pavan Deshpande to take Karnataka to 201/4 in their 20 overs.
While Nair slammed his century, Deshpande too completed his half century. Nair was out on 100 with Vikash Singh bagging his wicket.
Jharkhand were bowled out for 78 as M Prasidh Krishna, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sreenath Aravind and Jagadeesha Suchith took two wickets apiece.
It was Nair’s second century in the tournament, and it has come just a few days ahead of IPL auctions. Nair scored 111 runs against Tamil Nadu at a strike rate of 213.46, to help his side attain a 79-run win over their opponents.
Bengal win
In the second match of the day at the Jadavpur University, Bengal finished their campaign with an easy seven-wicket win over Tamil Nadu. Kanishk Seth (3/26) was the pick of Bengal’s attack, while Sayan Ghosh and Aamir Gani claimed two wickets each as they restricted Tamil Nadu to 129/9. Sudip Chatterjee’s unbeaten 51 saw his score a second successive half-century to seal the chase with 22 balls to spare. Writtick Chatterjee supported him by hitting 44 of 32 balls.
Rajasthan beat Mumbai
In the third match of the day, Rajasthan beat Mumbai 17 runs with Deepak Chahar once again bowling a splendid spell of 3/27. Winning the toss, Rajasthan opted to bat first and reached a target of 175/6 with Mahipal Lomror smashing a 55-ball 74. Chetan Bisht and Tajinder Singh smashed 41 and 43 respectively.
Mumbai were off to a rollicking start with the openers smashing a 54-run opening stand. However, a batting collapse saw reaching only 158/8 in their allotted 20 overs. With Deepak bagging three wickets, Khaleel Ahmed and Tajinder Singh picked up two wickets apiece. Rahul Chahar picked up a wicket as well.
Rajasthan have 12 points, while Punjab are on eight as the top two teams will clash in a virtual semi-final as well.
