Kolkata: Narayan Jagadeesan continued his superb form with the bat to smash an unbeaten 71 to help Tamil Nadu emerge as group champions and nullify Bengal’s chances of qualifying for the knockouts with a 8-wickets victory in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Monday (January 18) at Eden Gardens.
Put to bat first Bengal scored 163/8 thanks to Kaif Ahamed’s maiden half-century and reply TN finished the day at 167/2 with 2 overs left to play. While chasing Jagadeesan and Karthik built a match-winning 110-run partnership after Arun Karthik set the stage with a 20-ball 30.
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Karthik scored 47 not out off 37 deliveries while Jagadeesan’s unbeaten 71 came off 45 balls crafted with 4 sixes and 6 boundaries. Earlier Bengal lost Vivek Singh (7) early off B Aparajith while Suvankar Bal (14) and Sreevats Goswami (21) went back quickly too while trying to counterattack and Bengal got reduced to 54/3.
Shahbaz Ahamed (2) and experienced campaigner Manoj Tiwary (7) were also became victims of a run-out off Shahrukh Kahn’s direct hit and stumped by Dinesh Karthik respectively.
After being reduced to 87/5 Bengal skipper Anustup Majumder and youngster Kaif stiched a crucial 56-run partnership as the Bengal skipper went back scoring 34 off 22 balls while Kaif stayed unbeaten till the end on 63. Aparajith bagged 2 wickets for TN while Murugan Ashwin, Sai Kishore and Periyasamy picked up 1 wicket apiece.
