Big-Hitting Ruturaj Gaikwad Fires Maharashtra To 40-Run Victory; Karnataka, Haryana Too Win

Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a scintillating hundred to power Maharashtra to a 40-run win over Kerala in an Elite group C match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Tuesday. Opting to bat, skipper Gaikwad went on a six-hitting spree, clubbing seven maximums and eight fours in his 68-ball 114, to single-handedly take Maharashtra to 167 for four. In reply, Kerala could manage 127 for eight in their stipulated 20 overs, with Rohan Kunnummal top-scoring with a 44-ball 58 at the top.

For Maharashtra, Satyajeet Bachhav (3/11) and Azim Kazi (2/25) took three and two wickets respectively, while Rajvardhan Hangargekar (1/16) and Shamshuzama Kazi (1/8) accounted for one each.

In another match, Karnataka trounced Arunachal Pradesh by 10 wickets, riding on splendid bowling performances by Vidhwath Kaverappa (3/22) and V Koushik (3/5).

Karnataka, who had finished runners-up in the last edition, bundled out Arunachal Pradesh for 75 runs in 19.2 overs, and then returned to overhaul the target in 6.5 overs.

It was a clinical bowling display from Karnataka, as J Suchith (2/15), K Gowtham (1/12) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (1/17) were also among wickets, apart from Vidhwath and Koushik.

Chasing the total, skipper Mayank Agarwal smashed 47 not out in 21 balls, while his opening partner Devdutt Padikkal made an unbeaten 20-ball 28.

Karnataka are leading the group C points table with 16 points from five matches, followed by Haryana and Services.

Brief Scores: Maharashtra 167-4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 114; Sijomon 3/18) beat Kerala 128-8 in 20 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 58; Satyajeet Bachhav 3/11) by 40 runs.

Arunachal Pradesh 75 allout in 19.2 overs (Rohan Sharma 18; V Koushik 3/5, Vidhwath Kaverappa 3/22) lose by 10 wickets to Karnataka 76 in 6.5 overs (Mayank Agarwal 47 not out; Akhilesh Sahani 0/14) Jammu and Kashmir 134-6 in 20 overs (Abdul Samad 41; Nishant Sindhu 2/27, Sumit Kumar 2/7) lose by 4 wickets to Harayana 138-6 in 19.4 overs (Dinesh Bana 43; Mujtaba Yousuf 3/28). 

Shinde's 75 gives Andhra two-wicket win; HP, Gujarat also emerge winners

Kiran Shinde produced a blistering 38-ball 75 as Andhra Pradesh chased down a tricky target to register a two-wicket win over Bihar in an Elite group D match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore on Tuesday.

Chasing 182 to win, Andhra were down in the dumps at 68-5 in the ninth over, but Shinde changed the complexion of the match with a whirlwind innings.

Shinde made good use of the long handle, plundering nine fours and four sixes while adding 92 runs with Ricky Bhui (37) to lift Andhra to 160 in the 17th over.

Once both the batters were back in the hut, K V Sasikanth, who had taken two wickets, slammed a six off Anuj Raj in the last over to take the team home with two balls to spare.

Earlier, Bihar posted 181 for two in 20 overs, riding on Babul Kumar's 72 and Bipin Saurabh's 52.

S Gani also smashed a quickfire 17-ball 33.

Defending the total, Abhijeet Saket (3/31), Harsh Singh (2/43) and Anuj Raj (2/30) did put up a good show but, in the end, they were done in by Shinde's brilliance.

In another match, Himachal Pradesh beat Saurashtra by 13 runs to move to the second position in the points table.

Saurashtra still sits at top with 14 points, while HP and Andhra are tied at 12 points.

Brief Scores: Bihar 181-2 in 20 overs (Babul Kumar 72, Bipin Saurabh 52; KV Sasikanth 2/36) lost by 2 wickets to Andhra 186-8 in 19.4 overs.

Himachal Pradesh 157-8 in 20 overs (Nikhil Gangta 54; Jaydev Unadkat 2/24, Chirag Jani 2/28) win by 13 runs against Saurashtra 144-9 in 20 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 57; Rishi Dhawan 3/25).

Nagaland 119-8 in 20 overs (S Mundhe 45; Roosh Kalaria 2/20, Chintan Gaja 2/27, Arzan Nagwaswalla 2/27) lost by 9 wickets to Gujarat 122-1 in 9.5 overs (Saurav Chauhan 84; Akash Singh 1/20).

Bengal crush Sikkim by 84 runs

Fancied Bengal produced an all-round display to rout Sikkim by 84 runs in their Group C Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Lucknow on Tuesday. Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Bengal were served well by Sudip Kumar Gharami's 43-ball 56, Shahbaz Ahmed's 33-ball 43 before wicketkeeper Agniv Pan blazed away to an unbeaten 34 in just 12 deliveries.

Thanks to their efforts, Bengal made a competitive 179 for six in their stipulated 20 overs. There were two wickets apiece for Palzor Tamang, Sumit Singh and Ankur Malik.

In reply, Sikkim were restricted to 95 for eight with only two of their batters reaching double figures at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium B.

Pradipta Pramanik and Karan Lal were the most successful bowlers for Bengal, returning with figures of 2/11 and 2/5, respectively.

Set a stiff target, Sikkim were never in the game and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Brief scores: Bengal 179/6 in 20 overs (Sudip Kumar Gharami's 56, Shahbaz Ahmed's 43, Agniv Pan 34) beat Sikkim 95/8 in 20 overs (Ashish Thapa 21; Karan Lal 2/5, Pradipta Pramanik 2/11) by 84 runs.

Chandigarh 150/6 in 20 overs (Manan Vohra 52; Sumit Ruikar 2/16) lost to Chhattisgarh 156/2 in 20 overs (Amandeep Khare 73, Harpreet Singh 60).