In a run-spree at the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy stadium on Thursday, Karnataka defeated Hyderabad by two runs. Stuart Binny’s yorker-filled spell at the death prevented Hyderabad from crossing the line after having come close to eclipsing its opponent’s score of 205 for five.
Much of the base was laid by Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy, who helped Hyderabad to a bright start with an opening stand of 60. Reddy stepped on the pedal thereon, his 29-ball 70 embellished with seven sixes and three boundaries. He batted without a worry in the world, concerned little about the fact that he was taking on several India discards in the Karnataka attack.
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The dip in the run-rate was visible after he fell, until B. Sandeep came to the middle. Two fours and two sixes brought his side close. Just when he seemed to have got into the groove and with seven runs needed for victory, the southpaw was run out. Binny was accurate at the death, and a no-ball notwithstanding, proved too much to handle for the rest of the batsmen.
Rapid partnership
Karnataka was pegged back early when it batted. Mohd. Siraj bowled a brilliant delivery to have Mayank Agarwal caught behind. The second-wicket pair of Karun Nair (77, 42b, 9X4, 1X6) and K. Gowtham made the most of Hyderabad’s slack bowling and even more sloppy fielding; Karnataka reached 50 in just 3.4 overs.
Ravi Kiran, who had bowled a spell of four for 23 on Tuesday, was strangely introduced fourth in the attack. By then, the batsmen were entrenched in the middle and plundered boundaries almost at will through a porous field. Karnataka’s scoring dipped for a while after Gowtham was held at backward point off Mehdi Hasan. The tall batsman had four big hits and as many boundaries in a 31-ball 57.
Meanwhile, Nair nonchalantly reverse-swept the left-arm spinner through point and backward point. It seemed the only way he could be dismissed was by a run out, and that is precisely how he departed - Ravi Kiran broke the stumps at the bowler’s end from Akash Bhandari’s throw. Hyderabad’s misery didn’t quite end as Pavan Deshpande did a Dilscoop that sailed over the fine leg ropes. Karnataka’s eventual total proved enough, but only just.
TN defeats Goa
At the Dr. P. V. G. Raju ACA Sports Complex, Vizianagaram, Dinesh Karthik’s rich vein of form continued as he scored another half-century (56, 43b, 6x4, 1x6) in Tamil Nadu’s 25-run win over Goa. For Goa, off-spinner Amogh Desai bagged three for 22.
Goa managed to score 130 for seven in reply to TN’s 155 for five. Its skipper Sagun Kamat led by example with a sedate 41 and Desai scored 25.
The scores
At Visakhapatnam: Karnataka 205 for five in 20 overs (Karun Nair 77, K. Gowtham 57) beat Hyderabad 203 for nine in 20 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 38, Akshath Reddy 70, B. Sandeep 34; Stuart Binny three for 29) by two runs.
Kerala 120 in 12 overs (Sanju Samson 32, Vishnu Vinod 45; Bandaru Ayyappa three for 32, M. Harishankar Reddy four for 12) lost to Andhra 126 for four in 13 overs (Ashwin Hebbar 64, G.H. Vihari 25)
At Vizianagaram: Tamil Nadu 155 for five in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 56, Baba Aparajith 26, Sanjay Yadav 28 not out; Amogh Desai three for 22) beat Goa 130 for seven in 20 overs (Amogh Desai 25, Sagun Kamat 41).
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