Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Unbeaten Haryana and Bihar qualify for knock-outs

Haryana beat Kerala by four runs to qualify for the knock-outs of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament with an all-win record in Group E while Bihar registered their fifth win on the trot, defeating Mizoram by six wickets in their final Plate group match to enter the knockout phase on Tuesday.

Haryana topped the Elite Group E points table after winning all their five matches.

Put in to bat, Haryana rode on Shivam Chauhan’s 59 and a late onslaught by Rahul Tewatia (41 not out off 26 balls) to post a big total of 198/6. Later, their bowlers held their nerves to restrict Kerala to 194/6 and eke out a narrow win.

Later, Rahul Tewatia, one of the stars to emerge out of last year’s IPL, took the onus on himself and plundered four fours and two sixes to guide the team to 198/6.

For Kerala, two-down Sachin Baby top-scored with 68, but could not take his side home. They lost in-form opener Robin Uthappa (8) early. Mohammed Azhauddenn (35) and skipper Sanju Samson (51) kept them in the hunt with their 81-run second wicket stand. However, the two perished in quick succession.

Haryana kept on making inroads while Baby, who hit three fours and six sixes in his 36-ball knock, tried to take the game deep but to no avail.

In another match, Mumbai overcame Andhra Pradesh’s challenge to seal a five-wicket win but they have already been knocked out of the competition.

In Group D matches, Amit Verma’s unbeaten 72 powered Goa to a hard-fought 16-run victory over Vidarbha while Parth Sahani led from the front as Madhya Pradesh got a two-run victory over Services and Rajasthan beat Saurashtra by 15 runs.

Plate group

Bihar finished with five wins from as many matches and topped the group with 20 points, followed by Chandigarh and Nagaland (both 18 points).

Asked to bat, Mizoram batsmen never got going and crawled to 83 for eight in 20 overs.

Taruwar Kohli (33, 30 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) and Lalhruaizela (21, 36 balls, 2 fours) were the only batsmen to offer resistance as Bihar bowlers kept a tight leash.

Bihar skipper Ashutosh Aman, with his left-arm spin, led the way by picking up four wickets while giving away just 9 runs from his four overs. Leg-spinner Samar Quadri finished with two wickets.

Chasing 84 for victory, Bihar lost their openers early but Babul Kumar (37 not out, 34 balls, 4 fours) saw the team home.

In other matches on Tuesday, Chandigarh defeated Arunachal Pradesh by seven wickets while Nagaland beat Manipur by eight wickets.

Brief Scores

At Wankhede Stadium: Haryana 198/6 (Shivam Chauhan 59, Chaitanya Bishnoi 45; Jalaj Saxena 2/25, Sachin Baby 2/26) beat Kerala 194/6 (Sachin Baby 68, Sanju Samson 51; Sumit Kumar 2/16, Arun Chaprana 2/49) by four runs.

At BKC: Delhi 192/5 (Kshitiz Sharma 65 not out, Himmat Singh 53; Ashith Rajiv 2/23, Rohit Damodaran 2/26) beat Puducherry 82 all out (Rohit D 14; Sheldon Jackson 13; Shivank Vashisth 4/9, Jonty Sidhu 2/7) by 110 runs.

At SSN Engineering College ground: Mizoram 83 for 8 in 20 overs (Taruwar Kohli 33, Ashutosh Aman 4/9) lost to Bihar 84 for 4 in 12.4 overs (Babul Kumar 37 not out) by six wickets. Bihar: 4 points, Mizoram:0.

At IC-Guru Nanak College ground: Arunachal Pradesh 56 for 8 in 20 overs (Bipul Sharma 3/5) lost to Chandigarh 62 for 3 in 7.1 overs (Arslan Khan 37 not out) by seven wickets. Chandigarh: 4 points, Arunachal:0.

At Sri Ramachandra Medical College ground: Sikkim 111 for 5 in 20 overs (Varun Sood 60 not out (50 balls, 5X4, 2X6), R Sanjay Yadav 2/24) lost to Meghalaya 112 for 2 in 17.3 overs (Punit Bisht 41 not out, Rohit Shah 38) by eight wickets. Meghalaya: 4 points, Sikkim: 0.

At TI Cycles Murugappa ground: Manipur 129 for 8 in 20 overs (Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 50 not out, Nitesh Sedai 37, Stuart Binny 3/27) lost to Nagaland 131 for 2 in 17.1 overs (Chetan Bist 60, Shrikant Mundhe 35 not out) by eight wickets. Nagaland: 4 points, Manipur: 0.

With PTI Inputs