File photo of Amandeep Khare
Left-arm spinners M Siddharth and R Sai Kishore came up with impressive performances as Tamil Nadu outplayed arch-rivals Karnataka by eight wickets in an Elite Group 'B' match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Thursday.
Skipper Manish Pandey's decision to bat first backfired as Siddharth (4/23) and Sai Kishore (3/28) spun a web around the Karnataka batters to bundle them out for 122 in 36.3 overs.
Save Pandey (40) and Rohan Kadam (37), none of the other Karnataka batters could make a significant contribution. Tamil Nadu then rode on B Indrajith's unbeaten half-century to overhaul the target in 28 overs.
The slide began in the opening over when Sandeep Warrier had Ravikumar Samarth caught behind by Dinesh Karthik for a duck off in the second ball.
Only a 67-run partnership for the third wicket between Kadam (69 balls, 1 four) and Pandey (54 balls, 3 fours) helped them the blushes as none of the other batters reached double figures.
Kadam's innings was ended by M S Washington Sundar (1/27), who castled him. Siddharth then struck a crucial blow for Tamil Nadu when he bowled Pandey in the 26th over.
It was a procession from thereon as Siddharth and Sai Kishore ran through the rest of the batting line-up. In reply, TN openers B Sai Sudharsan (18) and captain N Jagadeesan (16) began by hitting a few boundaries before the latter was bowled by Vidhyadhar Patil (1/22).
Sai Sudharsan and Indrajith (51, 74 balls, 6 fours) added 32 runs for the second wicket before the former was dismissed by J Suchith (1/24).
Indrajith and Washington Sundar (31 not out, 33 balls, 3 fours) made sure that there was no further trouble as they closed out the chase in the 28th over.
It was the second occasion in recent times that Tamil Nadu had managed to put it across Karnataka after having nailed a thrilling final of the Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
In other matches of the group which were affected by rain, Mumbai got past Baroda, while Pondicherry pulled off a surprise win over the fancied Bengal -- both via the VJD method used in domestic matches.
Brief scores
Goa vs Rajasthan, Round 2, Elite Group E
JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi
Rajasthan won by 84 runs
Punjab vs Railways, Round 2, Elite Group E
JSCA Oval Ground, Ranchi
Punjab won by 3 wkts
Services vs Assam, Round 2, Elite Group E
Metallurgical & Engineering Consultant Ltd Sail Stadium, Ranchi
Services won by 4 wkts
Chandigarh vs Uttarakhand, Round 2, Elite Group D
Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot
Uttarakhand won by 3 wkts
Nagaland vs Arunachal Pradesh, Round 2, Plate
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Arunachal Pradesh 200 all out (49.5 overs)
Bihar vs Meghalaya, Round 1, Plate
KL Saini Ground, Jaipur
Meghalaya 273/6 (50 overs)
Sikkim vs Mizoram, Round 1, Plate
Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Jaipur
Mizoram 183/9 (50 overs)
Tripura vs Manipur, Round 1, Plate
Soul Feel Cricket Stadium, Jaipur
Tripura 273/2 (50 overs)
Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala, Round 2, Elite Group D
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium C, Rajkot
Madhya Pradesh 329/9 (50 overs)
Saurashtra vs Haryana, Round 2, Elite Group C
Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh
Haryana 127 all out (38.4 overs)
Gujarat vs Odisha, Round 2, Elite Group A
Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai
Gujarat 224/9 (50 overs)
Andhra vs Vidarbha, Round 2, Elite Group A
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Andhra 287/8 (50 overs)
Himachal Pradesh vs Jammu and Kashmir, Round 2, Elite Group A
Dadoji Konddev Stadium, Thane
Himachal Pradesh 250/8 (50 overs)
Puducherry vs Bengal, Round 2, Elite Group B
KCA Cricket Ground, Mangalapuram, Thiruvananthapuram
Bengal 264/8 (50 overs)
Jharkhand vs Uttar Pradesh, Round 2, Elite Group C
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh
Uttar Pradesh 239/7 (50 overs)
Nagaland vs Arunachal Pradesh, Round 2, Plate
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Nagaland won by 5 wkts
Bihar vs Meghalaya, Round 2, Plate
KL Saini Ground, Jaipur
Meghalaya won by 1 run
Sikkim vs Mizoram, Round 2, Plate
Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, Jaipur
Sikkim won by 4 wkts
Tripura vs Manipur, Round 2, Plate
Soul Feel Cricket Stadium, Jaipur
Tripura won by 86 runs
Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala, Round 2, Elite Group D
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium C, Rajkot
Madhya Pradesh won by 40 runs
Chhattisgarh vs Maharashtra, Round 2, Elite Group D
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
Maharashtra won by 8 wkts
Saurashtra vs Haryana, Round 2, Elite Group C
Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh
Saurashtra won by 5 wkts
Gujarat vs Odisha, Round 2, Elite Group A
Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai
Odisha won by 3 wkts
Andhra vs Vidarbha, Round 2, Elite Group A
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Vidarbha won by 8 wkts
Himachal Pradesh vs Jammu and Kashmir, Round 2, Elite Group A
Dadoji Konddev Stadium, Thane
Himachal Pradesh won by 63 runs
Baroda vs Mumbai, Round 2, Elite Group B
St Xavier's College Ground, Thiruvananthapuram
Mumbai Won by 13 Runs (VJD Method)
Tamil Nadu vs Karnataka, Round 2, Elite Group B
Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Tamil Nadu won by 8 wkts
Puducherry vs Bengal, Round 2, Elite Group B
KCA Cricket Ground, Mangalapuram, Thiruvananthapuram
Puducherry Won by 8 Runs (VJD Method)
Hyderabad vs Delhi, Round 2, Elite Group C
Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali
Hyderabad won by 79 runs
Jharkhand vs Uttar Pradesh, Round 2, Elite Group C
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh
Jharkhand won by 8 wkts
