Shami triple strike, Porel fifty guide Bengal to quarters

Mohammed Shami claimed three wickets further building on his match fitness, while Abishek Porel smashed a blistering fifty as Bengal stormed into quarters with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan in their Group A Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy clash here on Thursday. Playing his seventh game in the competition over last three weeks, the fit-again India pacer struck in his first over and snaffled two late wickets for his 3/26 as Bengal restricted Rajasthan to 153/9.

He also got key support from Shahbaz Ahmed (2/21) and Sayan Ghosh (2/27). In reply, Abishek Porel impressed with a quickfire 78 from 48 balls with seven fours and two sixes while Sudip Gharami made unbeaten 50 as Bengal cruised to the target with nine balls to spare.

Brief Scores Rajasthan 153/9; 20 overs (Kartik Sharma 46, Mahipal Lomror 45; Mohammed Shami 3/26, Shahbaz Ahmed 2/21, Sayan Ghosh 2/27) lost to Bengal 154/3; 18.3 overs (Abhishek Porel 78, Sudip Gharami 50 not out; Aniket Choudhary 2/37) by 7 wickets.

Rahane, Shedge power Mumbai to QF: Skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s explosive 54-ball 95, including nine fours and four sixes, and a late blitz from Suryansh Shedge (30 not out off 8 balls, 2 fours, 3 sixes) powered Mumbai to quarterfinals with a thrilling four-wicket victory over Andhra in Hyderabad. Chasing a daunting 230 in their Group E clash, Mumbai reached the target with three balls to spare.

While Prithvi Shaw (35 off 15 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) and Shivam Dube (34 off 18 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) supported Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (25 off 11 balls, 3 sixes) and India captain Suryakumar Yadav (4) failed to make a significant impact. For Andhra, India wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat smashed an unbeaten 93 off 53 balls, including eight fours and four sixes, while Ashwin Hebbar contributed a 29-ball 52 (7x4, 2x6) and skipper Ricky Bhui hit 68 (31b; 7x4, 4x6).

Brief Scores Andhra 229/4; 20 overs (KS Bharat 93 not out, Ricky Bhui 68, Ashwin Hebbar 52) lost to Mumbai 233/6; 19.3 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 95; Cheepurapalli Stephen 4/45) by 4 wickets.

Delhi crush Arunachal Pradesh: In a one-sided contest, Delhi crushed Arunachal Pradesh by 10 wickets with more than 13 overs to spare in their Group C match at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in Mumbai. Arunachal Pradesh could only manage a mere 89 for seven batting first with Aayush Singh returning 4-1-18-4.

He was backed well by Himanshu Chauhan (1/16), Digvesh Rathi (1/11) and Ayush Badoni (1/8). Delhi batters were clinical in their chase as they knocked off the required runs in mere 6.1 overs, scoring 92 for no loss to win with 83 balls to spare. Yash Dhull struck an unbeaten 35 from 16 balls with five fours and two sixes whereas Priyansh Arya was more belligerent of the two, hitting four sixes and six fours to make 54 not out off 21 balls.

Brief Scores Arunachal Pradesh 89/7; 20 overs (Siddharth Balodi 36, Techi Doria 32; Aayush Singh 4/18) lost to Delhi 92/0; 6.1 overs (Priyansh Arya 54 not out, Yash Dhull 35 not out) by 10 wickets.

Maharashtra win big: Maharashtra recorded a 41-run victory over Services in a high-scoring game in which their skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad missed his triple figure mark by mere three runs in a Group E fixture at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. 

The India batter set the tone for Maharashtra with a brutal 48-ball 97 with eight sixes and six fours, finding steady support throughout the innings but could not get his ton. Gaikwad’s charge was ended by Mohit Rathee. Nevertheless, Maharashtra posted a massive 231/4 against which Services crumbled and slipped to 74/5 at one stage, eventually finishing at 190/8.

Brief Scores Maharashtra 231/5; 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 97; Amit Shukla 2/40) b Services 190/8; 20 overs (Vikas Hathwala 47, Mohit Ahlawat 37, Mohit Rathee 34; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 2/26) by 41 runs. PTI DDV DDV TAP