THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tamil Nadu notched up their second consecutive win in this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. beating Rajasthan by 39 runs on Saturday. They are second in Group B behind Vidarbha. Rajasthan are third.After setting a target of 170, courtesy knocks of 48 from N Jagadeesan and Dinesh Karthik, Tamil Nadu bowlers were on the money. Left-arm R Sai Kishore (3/19) reduced Rajasthan to 23/3 in 4.5 overs, and they never recovered from that stutter.
Rajasthan skipper Mahipal Lomror tried to steady the ship with a 36-ball 32, but in vain. They kept losing wickets to finish at 116/8. Earlier, Tamil Nadu got off to a good start with three thirty-plus contributions from the top-order. After Murali Vijay departed for a 29-ball 35 in the ninth over, Karthik set the stage on fire. The 34-year-old smashed five fours and two sixes in his 30-ball knock. He and Jagadeesan helped the team cross 100 inside 15 overs.
Vijay Shankar (15) and M Shahrukh Khan (16 n.o) took the score to 169/5. Baba Aparajith, who pulled a hamstring on Friday, was replaced by C Hari Nishaanth.Brief scores: TN 169/5 in 20 ovs (Karthik 48, Jagadeesan 48) bt Rajasthan 116/8 in 20 ovs (Lomror 32; Sai Kishore 3/19).