Tanmay, Manoj guide India Blues to Challenger triumph

Indore:

Opener Tanmay Srivastava scored a run-a-ball 103 while talented Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary smashed a quick-fire 84 to help India Blue win the NKP Salve Challenger Series with a thumping 140-run victory over India Green here on Monday.

In reply to Blue's challenging score of 287 for seven, the Greens were all-out for 147 in 36.4 overs. India discard Rudra Pratap Singh took three for 20 for the winners.

For the second day in a row, India Blue captain Yuvraj Singh opted to bat after winning the toss.

Srivastava and in-form Shikhar Dhawan (44, 51 balls, 4x6, 1x6) added 67 runs before the Delhi batsman was caught by Ravichandran Ashwin at deep square leg off Abhimanyu Mithun's bowling.

Ajinkya Rahane (7) and Yuvraj Singh (12) were both dismissed off leggie Sarabjit Ladda. While Rahane mistimed a pull-shot, Yuvraj was done in by a googly.

At 118 for three, Srivastava was joined by Tiwary who was fluent from the onset, giving Srivastava a chance to score freely.

The centurion hit nine boundaries, while Tiwary hit seven fours and a six, adding 97 runs for the fourth wicket.

After Srivastava departed in the 41st over, it was Tiwary who single-handedly took the score close to 300 with some delightful strokes.

The Bengal batsman hit Mithun for a four and a six off successive deliveries before falling in deep.

When the Green team batted, they looked completely out of sorts as pacers Rudra Pratap, V Yomahesh and spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla bowled well.

Robin Uthappa was the top scorer with 30, while S Badrinath, Kedar Jadhav, Aniruddha Srikkanth and Rohit Sharma fell cheaply.