Jharkhand seals SMAT final spot

Jharkhand sealed a spot in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) final by topping Super League Group A, despite suffering a nine-run loss to Andhra Pradesh  on Tuesday. The final Super League Group A match produced a combined 397 runs, the highest match aggregate in T20s involving the two teams.

Asked to bat, Andhra produced a collective effort to post 203 for 7 in their stipulated 20 overs and then restricted Jharkhand to 194 for 8 to register a consolation win. However, the victory was not enough as Jharkhand finished atop the table with a net run rate of +0.221, while Andhra ended with -0.113.

Nitish Kumar Reddy emerged as the standout performer for Andhra, smashing a 22-ball 45 and later returning figures of 2 for 32. Andhra raced to 61 in the first five overs with openers Srikar Bharat (35) and Ashwin Hebbar (30) going hard early on.

After Ashwin Hebbar and M Hemanth Reddy were dismissed in the space of nine balls, Nitish joined the attack, striking six fours and two sixes as Andhra reached 134 for 4 in the 13th over, having lost Bharat in the 10th. Skipper Ricky Bhui contributed a run-a-ball 19, while Pyla Avinash (20) and Saurabh Kumar (16) added valuable runs to help Andhra cross the 200-mark.

In reply, Jharkhand were well placed with skipper Ishan Kishan (35) and Virat (77 off 40 balls) forging an 88-run stand in just 6.5 overs. However, a late collapse saw them lose their last four wickets for 24 runs, falling short of the target.

Out-of-favour India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer made an impactful half-century for Madhya Pradesh but couldn’t stop Punjab from winning the inconsequential Super League Group A tie by two wickets here. Interestingly, Venkatesh’s knock came hours before he was set to go under the hammer at the mini IPL auction in Abu Dhabi.

With Venkatesh in full flow at the top, the soon-to-be 31 scored a 43-ball 70 studded with eight boundaries and two sixes as Madhya Pradesh scored a stiff 225 for 8. However, young Harnoor Singh made quite a statement with his 36-ball 64 as he gave Punjab the momentum that led them to a thrilling win in 19.1 overs. Billed as an all-rounder, Venkatesh was only given one over by his skipper Rajat Patidar in which he gave away 12 runs.

This was the first win for both the sides in three games, leaving them out of contention for a place in the final from Group A. Venkatesh’s half-century, which came just a couple of hours before the IPL mini-auction in Abu Dhabi, set the platform for the big total after their innings faltered with opener Harsh Gawli (7), Harpreet Singh (27) and skipper Rajat Patidar (20) going cheaply.

At 93 for 3, a 200-plus scored looked a far cry but Venkatesh pulled out all stop to give a big push to the scorecard. Venkatesh’s dismissal in the 17th over came after he had stitched together a 63-run stand with Aniket Verma (31) for the fifth wicket. Late-order batters Mangesh Yadav (28 off 12 balls) and Tripuresh Singh (11 off 4) then took the total past 200.

Punjab’s innings too faltered with skipper Prabhsimran Singh (9) going early but Harnoor and one-down batter Anmolpreet Singh (38 off 14 balls) steadied the ship after which Salil Arora (50 off 29 balls) played an innings littered with five sixes to take his team closer to the target. Ramandeep Singh then completed the formalities with a well-made unbeaten 35.

Brief scores:

Andhra 203 for 7 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 45; Anukul Roy 2/30) beat Jharkhand 194 for 8 in 20 overs (Virat Singh 77; Nitish Reddy 2/32, Saurabh Kumar 2/21) by nine runs.

Madhya Pradesh 225 for 8 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 70; Gurnoor Brar 3/45, Ramandeep Singh 2/23).

Punjab 226 for 8 in 19.1 overs (Harnoor Singh 64, Anmolpreet Singh 38, Salil Arora 50; Shivam Shukla 3/39, Mangesh Yadav 2/38).