Karnataka, Hyderabad & Kerala win; TN lose

BENGALURU:  After the completion of the fourth round of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Karnataka and Hyderabad kept their unbeaten run intact as they defeated Baroda and Delhi respectively on Monday. However, defending champions Tamil Nadu suffered their first loss of the competition to Goa. Andhra, Pondicherry and Odisha also lost their respective matches while Kerala registered a victory over Assam.

Since the first game, Karnataka have been consistent with their all-round display, and they came up with a similar show against Baroda in their Elite Group B contest to win by seven wickets in Guwahati. With Krishnappa Gowtham and Vijaykumar Vyshak scalping two wickets, Baroda were restricted to 134/7 and Manish Pandey’s men reached the target with five balls to spare. Devdutt Padikkal played an important role with a 47-ball 56  while Karun Nair scored an unbeaten 36. Karnataka, who are currently at the top, will meet Bengal in a crucial match on Tuesday, which could well determine the Elite Group B toppers.

If Hyderabad were to keep their winning record intact, they had to beat a strong Delhi side and the game went right down to the wire as the former registered a thrilling last-ball victory. Delhi put up a good total of 170/5, and Hyderabad skipper Tanmay Agarwal top-scored with 54 during the chase. A middle-order batting collapse saw them being reduced to 138/7 from 113/2 but Tanay Thyagarajan and Chama V Milind held their nerves to help the team win by three wickets in Gurgaon. 

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing result for Tamil Nadu, who were expected to get past Goa in Elite Group A in Lucknow. Besides Sanjay Yadav (38), no one really got going, as they managed a below par total of 136/9. One has to give credit to left-arm Shrikant Wagh too as he took four wickets for Goa, who in turn achieved the target with eight balls to spare.