Cricket: Tamil Nadu ground high-flying Hyderabad by 8 wickets

Hyderabad: Tamil Nadu grounded the high-flying Hyderabad by eight-wickets to storm into the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, on Saturday. Hyderabad flattered to deceive as they surrendered the semifinal match on a platter to Tamil Nadu. Hyderabad lost a crucial toss and batting on a wicket that […]

Hyderabad: Tamil Nadu grounded the high-flying Hyderabad by eight-wickets to storm into the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, on Saturday.

Hyderabad flattered to deceive as they surrendered the semifinal match on a platter to Tamil Nadu. Hyderabad lost a crucial toss and batting on a wicket that had early morning moisture was a tricky one. But to compound the woes, Hyderabad batsmen committed hara-kiri to lose a golden opportunity as they literally threw away their wickets with bad shot selections that spelt their doom. Tamil Nadu gleefully grabbed the opportunity that came in their way as the bowlers tightened the noose around the faltering Hyderabad batsmen.

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The match, as a contest, ended in the first session as TN, led by medium pacer P Saravana Kumar (5/21), bundled out Hyderabad for 90 in 18.3 overs. Chasing a modest target, TN cruised home in 14.2 overs.

Hyderabad relied on two in-form batsmen — skipper Tanmay Agarwal and Tilak Varma, who on the day were out for low scores. The two, literally, threw away their wickets to trigger a Hyderabad collapse.  There was help for the fast bowlers in the 8.30 am start but it was not unplayable. It needed a bit of application but Hyderabad chose to play indiscreet shots to script their own downfall.

Left-handed Tanmay, who is the leading scorer of the tournament with 334 runs, scored just one run before he played an adventurous and was caught at deep third man. Tilak Varma, one of the eight left handers in the team, perished going for a shot over point. He had hit Warrier for a six in that area in the previous over but was dismissed by Saravanan and was caught at point.

Himalay Agarwal lasted two balls before poking a Saravanan delivery to be caught at slips while B Sandeep, the senior-most batsman, played an irresponsible shot against wrist spinner Murgun Ashwin and was caught at mid-off. The slide continued as Pragnay Reddy gave a catch to the point fielder and Sarvanan got his fourth wicket. Ravi Teja top edged a shot while going for a pull shot. Buddhi Rahul, who impressed in the previous matches, too followed with a tame dismissal. It was finally left to Tanay Thyagarajan, who hit a 24-ball 25, to take Hyderabad to 90.

Rakshann gave a glimmer of hope for Hyderabad by sending back N Jagadeeshan and C Nishanth in one over but left-hander B Sai Sudhersan (34 not out) and skipper Vijay Shankar (43 not out) took Tamil Nadu home. Left-arm seamer CV Milind could not add to his 18 wickets that he took in the tournament.

Hyderabad

Tanmay Agarwal c Warrier b Saravana 1 (4b), Pragnay Reddy c M Ashwin b Saravana 8 (16b, 1×4), Tilak Varma c Nishaanth b Saravana 8 (8b, 1×6), Himalay Agarwal c Shahrukh Khan b Saravana  0 (2b), B Sandeep c Mohammed b Ashwin 8 (6b, 1×6), T Ravi Teja c Sanjay b  Mohammed 9 (12b 1×4), Buddhi Rahul c Vijay Shankar b R Sai Kishore 9 (13b, 1×4), Tanay Thyagarajan c Kishore b Saravana 25 (24b, 1×4, 1×6), C V Milind c Sanjay b Ashwin 8 (17b), Mehdi Hasan c Vijay Shankar b Mohammed 3 (8b), Ctl Rakshann (not out) 0 (1b), Extras (w9, lb2) 11, Total (n 18.3 overs)  90; Fall of wickets:          1-4, 2-17, 3-17, 4-26, 5-30, 6-39, 7-44, 8-64, 9-80; Bowling: Warrier 4-0-23-0; Saravana 3.3-0-21-5; M Ashwin 4-0-13-2; M Mohammed 3-0-12-2; R Sai Kishore 4-0-19-1

Tamil Nadu

C Hari Nishaanth c Sandeep b Rakshann 14 (12b, 1×4, 1×6), N Jagadeesan c Thyagarajan b Rakshann 1 (3b), B Sai Sudharsan (not out) 34 (31b, 4×4), Vijay Shankar (not out) 43 (40b, 4×4, 1×6), Total (for 2 wkts in 14.2 overs) 92; Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-16; Bowling: Ctl Rakshann 3.2-0-23-2; Milind 2-0-11-0; T Ravi Teja 2-0-9-0; Thyagarajan 4-0-23-0; Mehdi Hasan 2-0-20-0; Sandeep 1-0-6-0

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