Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Sheldon ton powers Puducherry to record chase against Andhra

Sheldon Jackson's unbeaten 106 helped Puducherry register the highest successful run chase in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

Sheldon Jackson (106 not out, 50b, 7x4, 8x6) and Paras Dogra (51, 18b, 2x4, 6x6) justified the tag of professionals to help Puducherry chase down a record target of 227 set by Andhra in a Group E tie of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Mumbai on Friday. Dogra set the chase on course, dominating the 98-run partnership with Jackson for the third wicket before being brilliantly caught by Ashwin Hebber on the long-off boundary. Jackson then took over and ensured that Puducherry opened the account by crossing the gargantuan target with four balls to spare and scoring his maiden T20 hundred.

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Puducherry, thus, registered the highest successful run chase in the history of the domestic T20 tournament. Earlier in the day, Kerala created a record by scoring 218-4, chasing Delhi’s 212. But records were broken in a matter of few hours. With Andhra striking thrice in three overs when Ashith Rajiv joined Jackson at the crease, Puducherry was in danger of falling short of the target. But with 32 required off 14 balls, Jackson took a calculated risk against left-arm pacer C. Stephen to bring the target down to 22 off 12.

In the next over, Ashith’s twin boundaries off K.V. Sasikanth brought Puducherry in sight of the victory. And Jackson then ensured that Andhra skipper Ambati Rayudu’s decision to throw the ball to leggie S.K. Ismail for the final over backfired with a straight six that brought his hundred and a lofted drive over covers. Jackson’s effort overshadowed Andhra’s stupendous effort of piling on 226 for four after being inserted to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium. The stars of the night for Andhra were opener K.S. Bharat (62, 34b, 4x4, 5x6) and Rayudu (62 not out, 26b, 5x4, 5x6). Rayudu cut loose at the death to help Andhra comfortably cross the 200-run mark. But in the end, Jackson ensured it wasn’t enough.

FRIDAY'S SCORES Elite E (Mumbai): Delhi 212/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 77, Lalit Yadav 52 n.o.) lost to Kerala 218/4 in 19 overs (Robin Uthappa 91, Vishnu Vinod 71 n.o.). Mumbai 143 in 19.3 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 35, Sarfaraz Khan 30, Atharva Ankolekar 37, Arun Chaprana 3/22, Jayant Yadav 4/22) lost to Haryana 144/2 in 17.4 overs (Himanshu Rana 75 n.o., Shivam Chauhan 43 n.o.). Andhra 226/4 in 20 overs (Ashwin Hebbar 45, Srikar Bharat 62, Ambati Rayudu 62 not out, Prasanth Kumar 32) lost to Pondicherry 228/6 in 19.2 overs (Sheldon Jackson 106 not out, Paras Dogra 51, Harishankar Reddy 3/35). Elite D (Indore): Madhya Pradesh 136/9 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 50, Rakesh Thakur 32, Yash Thakur 3/25) bt Vidarbha 115/9 in 20 overs (Avesh Khan 5/17). Services 133/9 in 20 overs (Lakhan Singh 44, Ravi Bishnoi 4/15) lost to Rajasthan 134/4 in 17.3 overs (Ankit Lamba 51, Rajesh Bishnoi 45). Saurashtra 215/5 in 20 overs (Avi Barot 122, Samarth Vyas 41) bt Goa 125 in 18.4 overs (Eknath Kerkar 32, Jaydev Unadkat 3/28, Chirag Jani 3/24). Plate (Chennai): Meghalaya 89/9 in 20 overs (Anuj Raj 3/15) lost to Bihar 92/4 in 16 overs (Shasheem Rathour 33, Sakibul Gani 31 n.o.). Chandigarh 200/3 in 20 overs (Manan Vohra 85, Shivam Bhambri 62, Ankit Kaushik 36 not out) bt Mizoram 111/6 in 20 overs (Gaurav Gambhir 3/11). Nagaland 176/4 in 20 overs (Rongsen Jonathan 56, Shrikant Mundhe 54, Stuart Binny 30) bt Sikkim 76 in 14.2 overs (Anureet Singh 41, Khrievitso Kense 3/27). Manipur 149/8 in 20 overs (Akhilesh Sahani 3/30, Techi Doria 3/29) bt Arunachal Pradesh 104 in 19.4 overs.