Vijay shines as Vidarbha suffer first loss

Noteworthy batting performances

Rahul Tripathi's second consecutive half-century helped Maharashtra take a four-point lead to move up to the second spot on the Group E points table. A rare solid performance by the Baroda top order had allowed them to post 163 for 7. However, Tripathi's 49-ball 70 helped Maharashtra go past the target with seven wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare. Ruturaj Gaikwad also played a handy knock (37-ball 48) and put on a 98-run stand for the opening wicket with Tripathi.

Murali Vijay's 47-ball 74 helped Tamil Nadu inflict the first defeat on Vidarbha in the ongoing tournament. Electing to bowl, Vidarbha were restricted to 141 for 9 despite Rushabh Rathod's half-century. R Ashwin and Abhishek Tanwar combined to bag five wickets and conceded only 38 runs from their quota of eight overs. In response, Tamil Nadu's top order, barring Vijay, faltered yet again. However, J Kousik's 35-ball 41* lower down the order proved crucial as Tamil Nadu overhauled the total with 3 wickets in hand and 4 balls to spare in a consolatory win.

Vishnu Vinod and Rohan Kunnummal stroked unbeaten fifties to power Kerala to a 10-wicket win over Nagaland and bag their fourth win of the tournament. Electing to bowl, Kerala bundled out Nagaland for 103 with MD Nidheesh striking thrice while Basil Thampi and Vinoop Manoharan bagged a brace each.

Led by Akshdeep Nath (70) and Samarth Singh's (75) half-centuries, Uttar Pradesh posted a massive 209 for 6 and paved way for a 118-run win over Uttarakhand. The duo stitched a 123-run stand for the opening wicket before Saurabh Kumar delivered his best-ever T20 bowling performance (5 for 28) to bundle out the opposition for 91. With this win, Uttar Pradesh have further strengthened their position as the Group E leaders.

Pratham Singh's unbeaten 53 helpedRailways chase down 110 with nine wickets in hand against Sikkim and maintain their winning run in the tournament. The victory has also secured their passage to the Super League. Put in to bat, Sikkim were restricted to 109 for 5 despite Milind Kumar's half-century. In the chase, Railways lost Mrunal Devdhar early but Pratham stitched an unbeaten 97-run partnership with Prashant Gupta to overhaul the target.

Ankush Bains (55)starred in Himachal's nine-run win over Rajasthan and kept them in with an outside chance to qualify for the Super League. In doing so, they also ended Rajasthan's chances. After electing to bat first, Bains helped Himachal post 150 with an individual 55. Rajasthan, despite a steady start, struggled to keep up with the required rate. Ankit Maini struck thrice as Rajasthan were restricted to 141 for 7.

Manan Vohra's 48-ball 87 helped Punjab register a second consolatory win on the trot as they beat Goa by 79 runs. Vohra's innings, which included 6 boundaries and 7 sixes had enabled Punjab to muster 205 for 7. Goa struggled to keep up in the chase, and led by Krishan's four-fer, were bundled out for 126 in 18 overs.

Rohan Kadam's 89 laid the foundation for Karnataka's 51-run win over Odisha and helped them secure the top spot from Group D to qualify for the next round. Put into bat, Kadam's knock enabled Karnataka to reach 155 for 9 even as the rest of the batting faltered. However, Karnataka's spinners came to the party, led by KC Cariappa's 4 for 15, to bundle out Odisha for 104. Barring Suryakant Pradhan's 32, there was no noteworthy performance in the chase, making Odisha's chances for qualification less likely.

Shining with the ball

In what was an all-round performance by Bengal, Sayan Ghosh's four-fer, after Ishan Porel scalped the top three, proved crucial as they beat Chhattisgarh by 26 runs to remain in contention for a Super League berth in an intensely competitive Group D. Earlier in the day, Abhimanyu Easwaran stroked another half-century, and adequately supported by Manoj Tiwary (27-ball 42) and Vivek Singh (18-ball 30*) to help Bengal to 188 for 4. Harpreet Singh continued his good run and kept Chhattisgarh in the chase with a 36-ball 54 but it didn't prove enough as Bengal restricted them to 162 for 9.

Rana Dutta's four-fer helped Tripura register their first win of the season as they trounced Puducherry by 8 wickets. D Rohith remained an exception in Puducherry's abysmal show with the bat as the skipper stroked a 57-ball 54 to take his side to 102 for 9. However, Tripura had little difficulty in overcoming the target with Udiyan Bose stroking an unbeaten 54-ball 72. Despite the win, Tripura remain at the bottom of the table.

Sumit Kumar's four-fer helped Haryana secure a seven-wicket win against Assam in a rain-marred encounter. Put in to bat, Assam were restricted to 80 for 9 in 15 overs, a target that was chased down in only 8.4 overs, losing 3 wickets in the process. However, despite the win, Haryana have failed to qualify for the Super League.

Ashutosh Aman's four-fer played a key role in Bihar's scrappy one-wicket win over Meghalaya. The spinner's efforts restricted Meghalaya to 124 for 8. However, Bihar made a mess of the chase despite a 70-run stand between Keshav Kumar and Punit Malik, with collapses on either sides of their stands. Bihar eventually managed to past the total with one ball to spare.

Shardul Thakur's triple strike and a run out helped Mumbai beat Saurashtra by 8 runs and register their fifth win in six games to remain at the top of the Group C points table. Mumbai were provided with a good start, courtesy Prithvi Shaw's 17-ball 36. However, another batting collapse, orchestrated by Prerak Mankad's triple strike, bundled them out for 147. Robin Uthappa's half-century kept Saurashtra in the chase but they too tumbled after his fall and were bowled out for 139.

Akhilesh Sahani's four-fer, backed by Samarth Singh's unbeaten 35-ball 66 helped Arunachal register their first win of the tournament as they chased down the 123-run target against Mizoram with eight wickets in hand. Barring Taruwar Kohli (32-ball 52), none of the Mizoram batters made an impact as their winless run in the tournament continued. Sinan Abdulkhadir bagged both the Arunachal wickets to fall but they chased down the target in only 11.4 overs.

Efforts in vain

Mayank Raghav's 66-ball 103went in vain as Jammu & Kashmir chased down Manipur's 182 with eight wickets in hand, courtesy half-centuries from Jatin Wadhwan and Bandeep Singh. Raghav's innings included 11 boundaries and a five sixes. Apart from a century stand with Yashpal Singh, he also put on 56 for the opening wicket, in which his partner Prafullomani contributed only 3. However, it wasn't enough as Jammu & Kashmir registered their third win to finish their campaign on the fourth spot in Group A.

Shahbaz Nadeem and Varun Aaron's three-fers proved futile as Jharkhand fell four runs short of the 180-run target against Andhra, who ended their three-match losing streak. Jharkhand's loss also enabled their slip to the second spot - tied on points with Kerala and Delhi - on the points table. Handy knocks from P Manyla (17-ball 43), Ricky Bhui (29-ball 38) and Karn Sharma (15-ball 30) helped Andhra post 179. In response, Ishan Kishan had a rare failure but Saurabh Tiwary's 32-ball 54 kept Jharkhand in the chaseonly for a late collapse, triggered by Yarra Prithviraj, which resulted in them getting bowled out for 176.

Mohammad Siraj's four-fer went in vain as Services continued their impressive run and beat Hyderabad by 4 wickets. A brace each by Mohit Kumar and Rajat Paliwal helped restrict Hyderabad to 135 for 8. In the chase, Vikas Hathwala stroked his career best 61* off only 41 balls to helped Services reach the target with two balls to spare and kept them in with a qualification chance.