Smaran shines in Karnataka victory, Rajasthan drub TN

Ahmedabad, Nov 26 (PTI) Ravichandran Smaran gave another reminder about his unlimited potential with a well-timed fifty, guiding Karnataka to a five-wicket win over Uttarakhand in the opening Group D match

of the Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Trophy here on Wednesday.

Once Uttarakhand posted a competitive 197 for five in 20 overs, Karnataka’s task was cut out.

Skipper Kunal Chandela (88, 49 balls, 7×4, 5×6) and Aanjaneya Suryavanshi (54, 36b, 5×4, 3×6) added 122 runs for the fourth wicket as Uttarakhand recovered from a shaky 32 for three.

Pacer Vidwath Kaverappa was the stand out performer for Karnataka, taking three wickets while conceding 37 runs.

Karnataka slipped to 15 for two, losing Karun Nair and KL Shrijith but Mayank Agarwal and Smaran took their side to 99 through an alliance of 84 runs for the third wicket.

But quick wickets of skipper Agarwal, Smaran and Abhinav Manohar reduced Karnataka to 128 for five in 13.2 overs.

The former champions needed 70 runs off 6.4 overs at that stage.

But late-order batters Praveen Dubey (38, 24b) and Shubbang Hegde (29, 18b) knocked off those runs to take Karnataka past the target in the last ball of the match.

Left-arm pacer Rajan Kumar (3/24) was the most successful bowler for Uttarakhand.

Brief scores: Uttarakhand: 197/5 in 20 overs (Kunal Chandela 88, Aanjaneya Suryavanshi 54; Vidwath Kaverappa 3/37) lost to Karnataka: 198/5 in 20 overs (R Smaran 67, Praveen Dubey 38 not out, Shubhang Hegde 29 not out; Rajan Kumar 3/24) by 5 wickets.

Karnataka: 4 points; Uttarakhand: 0.

Tripura: 123 all out in 19.3 overs (M Murasingh 56, Hanuma Vihari 31; Jaydev Unadkat 3/19, Chirag Jani 3/19) lost to Saurashtra: 124/6 in 16 overs (Ruchir Ahir 29 not out, Vishvaraj Jadeja 28; Swapnil Singh 2/12) by 4 wickets.

Saurashtra: 4 points, Tripura: 0.

Tamil Nadu: 169/8 in 20 overs (Sonu Yadav 43 not out, N Jagadeesan 29; Ashok Sharma 4/40, Manav Suthar 2/22) lost to Rajasthan: 170/4 in 16.3 overs (Deepak Hooda 76 not out, Kartik Sharma 36; T Natarajan 2/16) by 6 wickets.

Rajasthan: 4 points; Tamil Nadu: 0. PTI UNG AH