CRICKET | Indrajith’s opening salvo fires Tamil Nadu to an easy win

Tamil Nadu’s B. Indrajith in action against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy cricket match, at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday, November 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

A six-hitting blitzkrieg by Tamil Nadu’s batters on a flat track paved the way for a 43-run win over Tripura in its opening Group B game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Saturday.

The team in yellow bludgeoned a record 13 sixes at the Holkar Stadium, eclipsing its previous best of 10 against Jharkhand in 2021. The chief protagonist in Tamil Nadu’s triumphant start was B. Indrajith, who slammed a career-best 78 off 39 balls, with five fours and as many sixes to boot.

He is known for his languid strokeplay, aided by supple wrists, but in a clash that began at 11 a.m., the 30-year-old, who said he was opening the batting for the first time, was all belligerence as he took on the Tripura bowlers.

Tamil Nadu’s N. Jagadeesan in action against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy cricket match, at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, November 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

With N. Jagadeesan also playing his part with a half-century that resulted in an 115-run stand, off just 57 balls for the second wicket, Tamil Nadu had the firepower to amass 234 for four.

In the run chase, Tripura had its moments thanks to Sridam Paul’s blazing effort (45, 20b, 7×4, 2×6) and late cameos from Rajat Dey and Manisankar Murasingh, but the task was a bridge too far. The team from the northeast finished on 191 for nine.

Indrajith had only played 23 T20 matches before this, with a highest score of 46. But on a placid pitch, Indrajith was willing to show another side to his game, which may prove timely given that the IPL mega auction is to be held over the next two days.

Tripura’s Sridam Paul in action during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy cricket match, at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on Saturday, November 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Besides the shots down the ground that sailed into the largely vacant stands, there was also cheekiness on display, as he moved across his stumps and paddle-swept seamer Ajay Sarkar for a six over short fine leg.

Karnataka loses to Uttarakhand

Opener Yuvraj Choudhary’s 123 helped Uttarakhand clinch a tense six-run win against Karnataka at the Emerald Heights International School ground on Saturday.

In a high-scoring game that went down to the proverbial wire, Uttarakhand posted 215 for five after electing to bat. Karnataka’s response fell marginally short as it was bundled for 209 in 19.5 overs.

The scores: Group B: Tamil Nadu 234/5 in 20 overs (B. Indrajith 78, N. Jagadeesan 50, Vijay Shankar 38, M. Shahrukh Khan 31) beat Tripura 191/9 in 20 overs (Sridam Paul 45, Rajat Dey 38, Manisankar Murasingh 37).

Saurashtra 157/9 in 20 overs (Vishvarajsinh Jadeja 60, Md Saptulla 4/40) beat Sikkim 103/6 in 20 overs (Nilesh Lamichaney 55 n.o.).

Uttarakhand 215/5 in 20 overs (Yuvraj Choudhary 123, Aditya Tare 42 n.o.) beat Karnataka 209 in 19.5 overs (K.L. Shrijith 72 n.o., Mayank Agarwal 48, Shubhang Hegde 36, L.R. Chethan 31, Himanshu Bisht 3/33, Akash Madhwal 3/48).

Gujarat 184/5 in 20 overs (Aarya Desai 78, Axar Patel 43 n.o.) lost to Baroda 188/5 in 19.3 overs (Hardik Pandya 74 n.o., Shivalik Sharma 64).