Tamil Nadu thrash Goa by 9 wickets; Karnataka beat Andhra by 37 runs

Opening batsman Abhinav Mukund struck an aggressive unbeaten 68 to help Tamil Nadu notch up a comfortable nine-wicket win over Goa in a South Zone leg match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament here on Tuesday.

Chasing a meagre target of 108 for a win, Tamil Nadu knocked off the required runs in 13.1 overs with Mukund carrying his bat till the end. He hit six fours and two sixes from 52 balls in his 68 not out.

India batsman Murali Vijay, who returned to competitive cricket after spending more than a month on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, made 16 from as many balls before he was run out at Guru Nanak College Ground.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Goa were all out for 107 in 16.2 overs as they lost nine wickets for just 19 runs. Goa's dramatic collapse began in the 11th over with the run-out of Swapnil Asnodkar for 33.

It took only six overs for their innings to crash from 88 for 1 to 107 all out, with three run-outs in all. Six of the seven wickets that fell to bowlers came courtesy the spinners, with Murugan Ashwin, Rahil Shah and Baba Aparajith taking two wickets each.

In another South Zone match at M A Chidambaram Stadium, Pavan Deshpande's 28-ball 51, his maiden T20 fifty, and Mayank Agarwal's brisk 46 helped Karnataka beat Andhra by 37 runs.

Opting to bat, Karnataka piled on 177 for 8 with Agarwal stitching a 57-run partnership with Shishir Bhavane which helped Karnataka recover from the loss of R Samarth in the first over. Karnataka's bowlers then collectively stifled Andhra, especially in the middle overs to win the match.

In the East Zone matches, Odisha and Bengal secured thrilling last-over wins over their respective opponents in the East Zone leg matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament at Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Batsmen sealed a three-wicket win for Odisha in nerve-wracking 150-run chase against Jharkhand, while later in the afternoon, Bengal seam trio of Kanishk Seth (3/23), Ashok Dinda (2/28) and Sayan Ghosh (2/20) put up a disciplined effort at the death to pip Tripura by five runs.