Thrice runners-up Punjab failed to qualify for the next round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after their loss to Saurashtra on Sunday. Punjab, who lost to Gujarat in the finals last year, finished fourth in the group courtesy three wins and as many losses.
Meanwhile, Gujarat jumped to the top of the table after Parthiv Patel struck tournament’s fastest fifty in just 19 balls. Tamil Nadu won their match against Hyderabad to claim second spot but they will have to wait till the end of Group A games to know their overall position.
Group A
Gujarat v Haryana: Har 95/10 in 20 overs (M Hooda 24, Jasprit Bumrah 3/10, RP Singh 3/16) lost to Guj (Parthiv Patel 51 not out) by 9 wickets
Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel smashed 50 in just 19 balls, the fastest in the tournament’s history as Gujarat overhauled Haryana’s modest target in 40 balls flat. After RP Singh and Jasprit Bumrah once again picked three wickets each, Gujarat needed to knock off the runs as quickly as possible. Parthiv, who has been in excellent form in the tournament, smashed two sixes and four boundaries in his unbeaten knock of 51 from 20 balls.
RP and Bumrah also bowled 31 dot balls in their eight combined overs before Haryana were bowled out for just 95. From being third in the group, the defending champions claimed the top spot and are almost through to the Super League
Hyderabad v Tamil Nadu: Hyd 140/8 (Javed Ali 35, M Ashwin 3/18, J Kousik 3/20) lost to TN 141/6 (Dinesh Karthik 43, Abhinav Mukund 31, Aakash Bhandari 2/20) by 4 wickets
Needing a win to stay alive in the competition, Tamil Nadu beat Hyderabad by four wickets in their final league game at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. After restricting Hyderabad to 140/8, Tamil Nadu batters gelled well to reach the target in 18.4 overs. Dinesh Karthik top scored for the side with 43 from 31 balls. Earlier for TN, Jagatheesan Kousik picked three wickets from his three overs.
Group B
Punjab v Saurashtra: Sau 167/5 (Chirag Jan 39*, Sheldon Jackson 38, Jaskjarandeep Singh 2/17) beat Punjab 148/10 (Himanshu Chawla 54, Jaydev Unadkat 3/19) by 19 runs
In the marquee Group B clash that was dominated by the presence of India internationals in both the teams, Saurashtra held their nerves to overcome Punjab by 19 runs. With both teams needing a win to stay alive, Saurashtra proved to be better on the day. Even though Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed in just the third over by Jaskarandeep Singh, a steady contribution from the middle order saw Saurashtra post a stiff 167/5.
As the chase began, Punjab were pushed onto the back foot when opener Jiwanjot Singh and star batsman Yuvraj Singh were back in the dugout inside the first three overs. While Jaydev Unadkat had Yuvraj dismissed for zero, Shaurya Sanadia was on target from the other end. From 27/4, Punjab were rescued by a 71-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Himanshu Chawla hit a quickfire half-century off just 20 balls as Punjab made a comeback. Fall of wickets continued Punjab needed 50 in the last five overs. As Punjab were inching closer, Unadkat struck twice in the penultimate over and followed up with a run-out off the final ball as Punjab lost the plot. Himanshu missed Parthiv’s mark of fastest fifty by just one ball.
Group C
Goa v Andhra: Andh 97/7 (Sirla Himasrinivas 28, Saurabh Bandekar 2/16) lost to Goa 98/1 (Saugun Kamat 61 not out, C. Stephen 1/11) by 9 wickets
In a match between two bottom-placed teams of Group C, Goa beat Andhra to register their first win in this edition of the tournament. After restricting Andhra to just 97/7, Goa batsmen Snehal Kaunthankar(34) and Sagun Kamat (61) shared a 96-run stand for the second wicket as the two helped the team chase the target in only 14.5 overs
Assam v Madhya Pradesh: Assam 138/6 (Syed Mohammed 39, Ashwin Das 2/48) lost to MP 140/5 (Harpreet Singh Bhatia 63 not out, Venkatesh Iyer 44 not out, Mrinmoy Dutta 2/22) by 5 wickets
With qualifiers from C previously decided, Madhya Pradesh had little to gain from the match, but they made sure they ended the tournament on a high. Chasing Assam’s 139, Madhya Pradesh looked in serious trouble with just one of their top five batsmen managing a double-digit score. No. 4 Harpreet Bhatia hit an unbeaten 63 as he shared a crucial 87-run stand for the sixth wicket with Venkatesh Iyer (44 from 24). Iyer hit a whopping five sixes and one boundary to take the team to victory in the final over.
Follow the stars
Yuvraj Singh was dismissed for zero by Jaydev Unadkat
Naman Ojha made just six runs against Assam
Harbhajan Singh bowled two overs for 19 runs and hit 14 from 12 balls
Dinesh Karthik made 43 and was the top scorer for Tamil Nadu
