Mumbai: Veteran Dinesh Karthik was back at his vintage best to smash a quickfire half-century as Tamil Nadu overcame a jittery start to down Baroda by 38 runs in a low-scoring group E match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-dayers on Wednesday.
Put in, Tamil Nadu were reeling at 52/5 when the skipper dig in with all his experience to rescue the team with a 51-ball 68 featuring nine fours and two sixes for his 40th List A fifty. Tamil Nadu were soon reduced to 52/6, but Karthik held fort and put together a 75-run partnership with Shahrukh Khan (31; 39b) to help them go past 150.
Lukman Meriwala (4/21 from 7 overs) and Ninad Rathva (3/23 from 7.3 overs) were the pick of the bowlers for Baroda as Tamil Nadu’s innings lasted just 33.3 overs. In reply, Baroda were shot out for 124 in 23.3 overs with T Natarajan leading the charge in his 7-1-38-4, while spin twins Varun Chakravarthy and R Sai Kishore sharing five wickets between them.
Shashank Singh produced a spectacular all-round effort 152 (113b) and 5/20 in five overs as Chhattisgarh thrashed Manipur by 88 runs in a group B match at Jaipur. Chhattisgarh lost their top three for only 16 inside nine overs after Manipur chose to bowl, but thereafter it was all about their No 5 batter Shashank who smashed 12 fours and seven sixes in his counter-attacking knock.
Skipper Amandeep Khare (88) also provided a fine support as the duo consolidated after the anxious start. After the pair’s departure, Ajay Mandal (43 not out; 20b) propped them to an imposing 342/6.
Shashank returned to shine with the ball, grabbing a five-wicket haul as Manipur managed 254/9.
Jammu and Kashmir’s new ball bowler Rasikh Salam (4/23) dismantled Delhi’s top order to complement opener Shubham Khajuria’s splendid 109 as they stunned Delhi by 75 runs in another group C clash at Ahmedabad.
Put in, J&K rode on their skipper’s century to post 299/7. In reply, Delhi were bundled out for 224 in 45.3 overs. Lalit Yadav was Delhi’s top-scorer (67) but none of their other batters could provide any resistance.
Group B:
Chhattisgarh 342/6; 50 overs (Shashank Singh 152, Amandeep Khare 88, Ajay Mandal 43 not out) beat Manipur 254/9; 50 overs (Prafullomani Singh 67, Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 61; Singh 5/20) by 88 runs.
Group C:
Jammu and Kashmir 299/7; 50 overs (Shubham Khajuria 109, Abhinav Puri 46, Auqib Nabi 44 not out; Mayank Yadav) beat Delhi 224; 45.3 overs (Lalit Yadav 67, Yash Dhull 49; Rasikh Salam 4/23) by 75 runs.
Group E:
Tamil Nadu 162; 33.3 overs (Dinesh Karthik 68; Lukman Meriwala 4/21) beat Baroda 124; 23.3 overs (Vishnu Solanki 25; T Natarajan 4/38, Varun Chakravarthy 3/17) by 38 runs.
