Host Bengal began their campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament with a thumping nine-wicket win against Odisha in an Elite Group 'B' match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. (More Cricket News)
In another match in the group, Tamil Nadu posted a crushing 66-run win over Jharkhand, courtesy opener C Hari Nishanth's unbeaten 92-run knock and an all-round effort by the bowlers. Debutant medium-pacer R Sonu Yadav picked up three for 31 to star in the winning start.
In the Bengal-Odisha match, the host team's skipper Anustup Majumdar won the toss and sent the opponents in to bat. The Odisha batsmen found the going tough in the face of some good bowling by the highly-rated Ishan Porel (3/26) and Akash Deep (2/20).
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Odisha lost opener Shantanu Mishra (6) early as he was run out by Suvankar Bal. The innings did not get the momentum as wickets fell at regular intervals.
From a perilous 30 for five, they recovered following a 65-run sixth wicket partnership between Rajesh Dhupar (37) and Ankit Yadav (32) before they capitulated to 113 all out in 20 overs.
Opener Vivek Singh hammered an unbeaten 35-ball 54 (6 fours, 2 sixes) to help Bengal romp home in 12.2 overs with a 76-run second wicket partnership with Suvankar Bal (34 not out).
Brief Scores: Odisha 113 all out in 20 overs (Rajesh Dhupar 37, Ankit Yadav 32, Ishan Porel 3/26) lost to Bengal (114 for 1 in 12.2 overs Vivek Singh 54 not out) by nine wickets.
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Tamil Nadu 189 for 5 in 20 overs (C Hari Nishanth 92 not out, Dinesh Karthik 46) beat Jharkhand (123 for 7 in 20 overs, Anand Singh 28 not out, Sonu Yadav 3/31, Sandeep Warrier 2/22) by 66 runs.
