CHENNAI: In a Group B encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament at Surat, Tamil Nadu secured a three-wicket win over Vidarbha to keep themselves in with a mathematical chance of making the Super League stage.
The victory meant Vidarbha remained in second spot with 16 points from five matches while Tamil Nadu climbed to fourth spot with 12 points from as many games. The only chance they have is on net run rate. While the Ranji Trophy champions have a net run rate of +1.176, Ravichandran Ashwin’s men are on -0.458.
Gujarat lead the standings with 16 points from five and will face off against Faiz Fazal’s team in their last group game.
The winner of that game is assured of progression. Tamil Nadu will face off against bottom dwellers Meghalaya and their goal will be to try and improve their net run rate.
Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to bowl first. Rushabh Rathod top-scored for Vidarbha with 51 off 31 as they notched up 141/9 in their 20 overs. Pacer Abhishek Tanwar took three wickets while skipper Ashwin chipped in with two.
Chasing 142, opener and India Test star Murali Vijay scored 74 in 47 balls (4x4, 4x6) while J Kousik scored 41 off 35 balls to ensure four points.
Brief scores
Group A: In Vijayawada: Andhra 179 in 19.5 ovs (Pranith 43, Bhui 38; Nadeem 3/26, Aaron 3/49) bt Jharkhand 176 in 19.5 ovs (Tiwary 54; Yarra 3/38). Nagaland 103/8 in 20 ovs (Rohit 49; Nidheesh 3/17) lost to Kerala 105/0 in 12.2 ovs (Vinod 53 n.o, Kunnummal 51 n.o).
Group B: In Surat: Vidarbha 141/9 in 20 ovs (Rathod 51; Tanwar 3/22) lost to TN 142/7 in 19.2 ovs (Vijay 74, Koushik 41 n.o).
Group D: In Cuttack: Karnataka 155/9 in 20 ovs (Kadam 89) bt Odisha 104 in 18.1 ovs (Cariappa 4/15, Koushik 3/8).
Group E: In New Delhi: Hyderabad 135/8 in 20 ovs lost to Services 141/6 in 19.4 ovs (Hathwala 61 n.o; Siraj 4/20).