Jabalpur (M.P): Bihar took control in Group E beating Punjab by 32 runs in the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy National T20 Cricket for the Blind being played here at the Ranital Sports Complex. They had beaten Chhattisgarh in the day and night encounter played yesterday by 10 wickets to gain advantage of qualifying for the quarterfinals from the group.
In the first match played today, Bihar beat Punjab who had won their last two matches by 32 runs. Winning the toss and batting first Bihar scored 165/7 in their 20 overs. Md. Shahid Aman scored an unbeaten 32 runs which propelled Bihar to a match winning score in the final overs. Earlier Sudanshu Kumar (29) and Kanhaia (26) made useful contributions to Bihar’s total. Amandeep Singh (B1) was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 wickets for Punjab. He was supported by Arshdeep Singh, Mandeep Panwar and Harpreet Singh who took a wicket each. In reply, Punjab opener Arshdeep Singh gave them a good start but he kept losing partners at the other end. Partnerships were not being built in the innings along with Bihar bowlers taking wickets regularly led to Punjab innings ending on 133/8 in 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh top scored with 55 runs. Sudanshu Kumar took 2 wickets while Kanhaia and Md. Israfil took a wicket each for Bihar.
In the other match of the group, Tripura beat Chhattisgarh by 7 wickets to secure their first win of the tournament. Winning the toss and electing to bat, Chhattisgarh scored 151/8 in their 20 overs. The innings contained 52 extra runs bowled by Tripura bowlers which was the highest scorer for Chhattisgarh in the innings. Opener Shrikant Pande scored 44 runs and Murtaja scored 26 runs to give Chhattisgarh a respectable total. B3- Sukanta Sankar, Biswajith Debnath, Rajendra Panuria, Arpan Das and Tuelve Kumar took a wicket each for Tripura. Chasing a tricky total, Tripura openers Biswajith Debnath and Arpan Das put together 130 runs making the chase easier for Tripura. Biswajit was dismissed for 47 in the 16th over with the match in control for the batting team. Arpan Das was dismissed in the next over after scoring 54 runs. In the 18th over Rajendra Panuria was dismissed which added pressure to the Tripura innings but Sukanta Sankar and Lab Shil took them over the line without any further hiccups. Vesh Kumar and Shrikant Pande took a wicket each for Chhattisgarh.
In the day and night match played yesterday at the same venue, Bihar thumped Chhattisgarh by 10 wickets. Winning the toss and electing to bat, Chhattisgarh openers Dushyant Kumar and Ashish Jangde put on 75 runs in just 7 overs. Chhattisgarh lost two quick wickets but the innings was again revived by a 3rd wicket partnership between Dushyant and Murtaja of 57 runs. Bihar took quick wickets from there with only Dushyant who scored 85 runs offering some resistance. Angad Kumar Singh took 2 wickets while Shahid Ahmad and Ranjay Kumar took a wicket each for Bihar. Chhattisgarh made 169/7 in 20 overs. Chasing the target, Bihar openers Angad Kumar Singh and Ranjay Kumar made the chase a no contest as they belted the opposition bowling from the beginning. Angad Kumar Singh scored a brilliant century and remained unbeaten on 119 of just 50 balls with the help of 25 boundaries and one six. Ranjay Kumar gave him good support by remaining unbeaten on 35. Bihar chased down the target in just 10.3 overs.
The final group match of the tournament will be played tomorrow between Bihar and Tripura.
Jharkhand who came second in Group A will play a crossover match against the Winner of Group E at the Ranital Sports Complex in Jabalpur tomorrow and the winners of the match will qualify for the Super 8s. Chandigarh who came first in Group F will play Maharashtra who were second in Group B in another cross over match in Chandigarh to decide the Super8s. The date of the fixture is not yet decided.
Tomorrow’s Matches (Group E)
Bihar vs Tripura
Crossover Match
Jharkhand vs Winner of Group E – Ranital Sports Complex, Jabalpur
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