Washington Sundar had bowled well so far in the tournament but was unlucky to not get a wicket in the first three matches. But on Wednesday, it was his turn to set up the match for Tamil Nadu, first with a three-wicket haul and then chipping in with a valuable unbeaten 38 (22b, 3x6) to beat Jharkhand by eight wickets and help his side reach the semifinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.
Electing to bat, Jharkhand was bowled out for just 85 with left-arm spinner M. Siddharth continuing his dream run, picking his second four-wicket (4/18) haul in three matches after Washington removed the top three batsmen.
The India off-spinner first removed Kumar Deobarat, caught at square-leg, before Virat Singh miscued a shot giving a simple high catch to the backward point fielder. He then had Supriyo Kumar leg-before leaving Jharkhand tottering at 27/3 in the seventh over.
Jharkhand skipper Saurabh Tiwary was the only one who looked to be in some sort of control hitting a few boundaries in his knock of 27 before he top-edged leg-spinner M. Ashwin, giving a simple catch to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.
Siddharth then cleaned up the lower half, with a few batsmen holding out in the deep while Sai Kishore picked up one wicket with a beautiful delivery that spun and bowled left-hander Sonu Kumar.
In reply, TN’s opening once again failed with Hari Nishanth dismissed for a single-digit score while Shahrukh Khan (24) failed to capitalise on a good start. It was then left to Washington Sundar and Dinesh Karthik to see the team through before 14.5 overs to ensure TN finished ahead of Karnataka on net run rate.
The duo nudged it around until the equation came to 12 runs when Washington hit left-arm spinner Anukul Roy for two sixes, one through the cover region and another over long-on to finish off the chase in 13.5 overs.
-R. Ashwin to join TN squad ahead of Syed Mushtaq T20 semis-
Tamil Nadu will get a huge boost for its semifinal clash in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament with off-spinner R. Ashwin set to join the squad on Thursday. Ashwin's presence will bolster TN's already spin-heavy attack and the experience he brings could be a huge help especially considering there is enough help for spinners here at the Lalbhai Contractor stadium.
Ashwin similarly joined the TN squad in Bengaluru for the Vijay Hazare trophy immediately after his national commitments following the South Africa Test series.
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