<
>

Rain spoils Punjab's hopes as Tamil Nadu go through to Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final

B Aparajith knocks the ball to the leg side NurPhoto/Getty Images

No result Punjab 52 for 2 (Sanvir 21*, Sai Kishore 1-17) v Tamil Nadu 174 for 6 (Aparajith 56, Gurkeerat 2-25, Markande 2-26) in 39-over match

Tamil Nadu qualified for the semi-finals of the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy on the basis of more wins in the league stage after rain washed out their quarter-final against Punjab in Alur. The match was evenly poised at the time of the call off, but Tamil Nadu's nine out of nine wins to Punjab's five out of eight saw them through.

Due to a wet outfield, the game itself started 45 minutes late, as a 47-over contest, and was further reduced to 39-overs-a-side when a passing shower brought a pre-mature end to Tamil Nadu's innings. At that stage, Tamil Nadu were 174 for 6, thanks to B Aparajith's 56.

Chasing a VJD-adjusted target of 195, Punjab reached 52 for 2 in 12.2 overs before it started raining again, this time bringing a complete end to play.

ALSO READ: Dinesh Karthik tells the story of Tamil Nadu's nine wins in a row

Tamil Nadu had a nervy start after being put in. Abhinav Mukund tried to impose himself but ended up chopping Sandeep Sharma onto his stumps. M Vijay struck two fours, flicking Sidharth Kaul's pace with ease over midwicket, but he missed the same shot against left-arm spinner Karan Kalia and was lbw for 22.

When Mayank Markande dismissed Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu were 82 for 3. Aparajith and Dinesh Karthik took the side past 100 before Karthik pulled a long hop from Markande straight to short midwicket.

Aparajith though kept chipping away and took his tournament tally past 500. Along the way, he smashed a free hit from Sanvir Singh over long-on, pulled Sandeep over deep-backward square leg and brought up his fifty in 68 balls. Washington Sundar held it together at the other end as the duo added 51 in 59 balls. Aparajith was looking set for a big score but he ended up hitting an innocuous Gurkeerat Mann delivery straight to deep midwicket. In his next over, Mann dismissed Shahrukh Khan in the same manner as well.

Punjab lost Abhishek Sharma in the fourth over of their chase. Anmolpreet Singh hit a couple of boundaries before Sai Kishore got him caught-behind, leaving Punjab 37 for 2 at the end of seven overs. Sanvir hit a couple of good-looking drives to keep the chase on track but the rain had other plans.

Punjab 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st16Abhishek SharmaSanvir Singh
2nd21Anmolpreet SinghSanvir Singh
3rd15Mandeep SinghSanvir Singh

Vijay Hazare Trophy

Elite, Cross Pool
TeamMWLPTNRR
KNTKA871281.17
DELHI852220.306
PNJB852220.804
CGR852220.066
MUM842200.832
UP842200.724
HYD843180.734
JHK84416-0.231
KER844160.435
MAHA83316-0.073
HP834140.039
ODSA83414-1.052
BRODA835120.23
VIDAR83512-0.061
SAU83512-0.648
HRYNA83512-0.978
AP8166-1.122
GOA8166-1.616
Elite, Group C
TeamMWLPTNRR
TN990361.869
GUJ981321.246
BENG952240.196
SVCS95420-0.339
TPURA94516-0.279
J + K94516-0.427
MP93514-0.369
RLYS92512-0.28
RAJ92610-0.099
BIHAR9090-1.706
Plate Group
TeamMWLPTNRR
PONDI970323.523
CHD962260.759
UKHND951262.236
ASSAM963241.67
NAGA94222-0.14
MEGHA934160.559
ARP92610-1.373
MNPR91510-1.807
MIZO9168-2.276
SIKM9176-1.847