Chandigarh back on track

Chandigarh, November 14

After losing their last two matches, Chandigarh today rode on Bipul Sharma’s unbeaten half-century to beat Chhattisgarh by six wickets in a Group C match of Syed Mushatq Ali Trophy at the Sector 16 stadium here.

Chasing 162 runs for victory, the hosts made a steady beginning with skipper Manan Vohra and Shivam Bhambri adding 51 runs for the opening wicket.

The two were separated when Sumit Ruikar accounted for Bhambri (28) in the ninth over. Vohra fell 13 balls later to Shubham Singh. He made 33 off 34 balls.  

With the side still needing 97 runs off 9.1 overs, Bipul Sharma hit 62 off 33 balls, including six boundaries and three sixes, to steer the hosts home with an over to spare. 

Earlier, Vishal Singh hammered an unbeaten 29-ball 60 to propel Chhattisgarh to 161/6 in 20 overs after being put in to bat. Skipper Harpreet Bhatia made 44 runs.

Sarandeep Singh was the most effective bowler for the hosts, claiming 3/31. 

Railways beat Punjab

At Government Model Senior Secondary School grounds in Sector 26, Anmolpreet Singh’s 84-run knock went in vain as Railways restricted Punjab to 162/7 in the stipulated 20 overs to earn a five-run win.  

Put in to bat, Railways scored 167/8 with some useful contributions from Mrunal Devdhar (37), Vikrant Rajput (33) and Mohammed Ahmad (32). Pratham Singh chipped in with a quick-fire 25.  

Siddarth Kaul returned a match haul of 4/19, while skipper Mandeep Singh (1/13), Sandeep Sharma (1/34) and Mayank Markande (1/41) took a wicket apiece. 

Needing to score 8.40 runs per over for victory, Punjab lost openers Abhiraj Singh (1) and Abhishek Sharma (13) early. Mandeep Singh did not last long either. He was dismissed by Himanshu Sangwan on nine. 

Anmolpreet then in company of Gurkerat Mann took the total to 99 runs in 13.4 overs before Karthik Imandi brought an end to the 58-run stand between the two. Mann was trapped in front of wickets after scoring a 26-ball 30. 

Anmolpreet maintained the onslaught but kept losing partners at regular intervals, and the side eventually closed their innings on 163/7. Anmolpreet was run out on the last ball of the match. — TNS

Gowtham to play for Kings XI Punjab

New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals traded bowling all-rounder K Gowtham to Kings XI Punjab on Thursday. Gowtham, who was bought by Rajasthan for Rs 6.2 crore at the 2018 auction, played 15 games in 2018 and seven in 2019. It was a dismal last season for Gowtham, who scored 18 runs in seven games and took only one wicket. In the 2018 season, the 31-year-old had scored 126 runs in 15 games and picked up 11 wickets. After trading Ravichandran Ashwin to Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab were looking for a spin option and they would be hoping the Karnataka all-rounder delivers in the upcoming season. PTI

Brief scores

• Chhattisgarh 161/6 in 20 overs (Vishal Singh 60*, Harpreet Bhatia 44; Sarandeep Singh 3/31) lost to Chandigarh 164/4 in 19 overs (Bipul Sharma 62*, Manan Vohra 33; Sumit Ruikar 2/14)
• Railways 167/8 in 20 overs (Mrunal Devdhar 37, Vikrant Rajput 33; Siddarth Kaul 4/19) beat Punjab 162/7 in 20 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 84*, Gurkeerat Mann 30; Karthik Imandi 3/40)
• Arunachal Pradesh 118/6 in 20 overs (Rahul Dalal 65; Pankaj Jaiswal 4/18) lost to Himachal Pradesh 119/4 in 14.2 overs (Ekant Sen 51*, Abhimanyu Dalal 41; Akhilesh Sahani 2/33)
• Hyderabad 163/6 in 20 overs (Sandeep Bhavanka 55*, Himalay Aggarwal 34; Satyajeet Bachhav 2/22, Digvijay Deshmukh 2/43) lost to Maharashtra 164/4 in 19.5 overs (Kedar Jadhav 68, Naushad Shaikh 34; Mohd Siraj 3/37)