Source – indiatoday.in
Washington Sundar and M Siddharth spun a web around Jharkhand, as Tamil Nadu registered an eight-wicket win in their last Super League match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament here on Wednesday.
Left-arm spinner Siddharth (4-18) and off-spinner Sundar (3-10) ran through the Jharkhand batting lineup, as they bundled out the opposition for a paltry 85, which Tamil Nadu later chased down in 13.5 overs.
Jharkhand skipper Saurabh Tiwary’s decision to bat first was proven wrong by Sundar and Siddharth’s magic with the ball.
Tiwari (24 off 27 balls) and wicket-keeper Sumit Kumar (19 off 25 balls) were the only ones to show some fight, as the rest of the Jharkhand batsmen faltered in the crucial game.
Jharkhand were reeling at 29-3 and their innings never quite gathered steam, as Tamil Nadu picked up wickets at regular intervals.
Spinners have been delivering for their captain Dinesh Karthik and Wednesday was no different at the C B Patel ground.
Kumar Deobrat (1), Virat Singh (2), Supriyo Chakraborty (8) and Utkash Singh (5) fell cheaply, as Jharkhand’s wickets collapsed like a pack of cards.
Spinners R Sai Kishore (1-15) and Murugan Ashwin (1- 13) also played their parts to perfection.
For Tamil Nadu, the chase began on a horrendous note, as they lost their in-form opener C Hari Nishaanth (7) early.
They were also struggling at 35-2, as Jharkhand grabbed the wicket of Shahrukh Khan (24 off 28 balls).
However, Sundar (38 not out off 22 balls), promoted up the order, took the game away from Jharkhand with his whirlwind knock.
He smashed three towering sixes and stitched a match- winning unbroken 51-run stand with skipper Karthik (13 not out) to steer the side to victory.
The semi-final lineup will only be clear after the conclusion of the Punjab-Mumbai game, which will begin at 6.30 pm.
Brief Scores: Jharkhand 85 all out (Saurabh Tiwary 24, Sumit Kumar 19; M Siddharth 4-18) lost to Tamil Nadu 86/2 (Washington Sundar 38 not out, Shahrukh Khan 24; Utkarsh Singh 1-21) by eight wickets.