JAIPUR/CHENNAI: Delhi made the first and smart use of the ‘Impact Player’ option to outplay Manipur by 17 runs in their opening match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy here on Tuesday. Defending champions Tamil Nadu started the campaign on a disappointing note, losing to Chhattisgarh by six runs.
Opener Hiten Dalal smashed a run-a-ball 27 to push Delhi to 167 for seven. The Nitish Rana-led squad then decided to replace Dalal with off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen, who took a couple of wickets in his three-over spell as Manipur were bundled out for 96 in response.
The impact Player rule allows a team to make a tactical substitution in the middle of the game. Elsewhere, Devdutt Padikkal scored the first century (124 n.o off 62) of this season as Karnataka defeated Maharashtra by 99 runs at Mohali. Padikkal added 148 runs for the third wicket with Manish Pandey (50) to post 215/2 in 20 overs. Chasing a huge target, Maharashtra were never in the game as Vidwath Kaverappa picked up three wickets to give Karnataka a comfortable win.
At Lucknow, Tamil Nadu suffered a shock defeat to Chhattisgarh. After an impressive show from the bowlers, who restricted Chhattisgarh to 132/5, the batters failed to finish the job. The top-order started on a cautious note and let the asking rate climb to 9.3 by the 15th over. With pressure mounting with each over, Tamil Nadu kept losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually falling short by 6 runs.
Andhra’s game against Sausrashtra was abandoned because of rain, while Hyderabad lost to Punjab by 59 runs. Kerala also got off to a winning start. In a rain-curtailed 11-over contest against Arunchal Pradesh, Kerala won by 10 wickets.
Brief scores: (Elite) Group B at Jaipur: Delhi 167/7 in 20 ovs (Hiten 47) bt Manipur 96/7 in 20 ovs; Punjab 174/4 in 20 ovs (Sanvir 55, Anmolpreet 50) bt Hyderabad 115 in 18.4 ovs (Tilak 50, Abhishek 3/22, Baltej 3/22); Pondicherry 94 in 18.4 ovs lost to UP in 12.3 ovs. Group C at Mohali: Arunachal Pradesh 53/6 in 11 ovs lost to Kerala 55/0 in 4.5 ovs; Karnataka 215/2 in 20 ovs (Padikkal 124 n.o, Pandey 50) bt Maharashtra 116/8 in 20 ovs (Hinganekar 47, Kaverappa 3/19). Elite Group E at Lucknow: Chhattisgarh 132/5 in 20 ovs (Harpreet 49) bt TN 126/9 in 20 ovs (Ravi Kiran 3/26); Sikkim 100/6 in 20 ovs lost to Odisha 101/1 in 15.2 ovs.