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Rain spoils Punjab's hopes as Tamil Nadu go through to Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final

B Aparajith knocks the ball to the leg side NurPhoto/Getty Images

No result Punjab 52 for 2 (Sanvir 21*, Sai Kishore 1-17) v Tamil Nadu 174 for 6 (Aparajith 56, Gurkeerat 2-25, Markande 2-26) in 39-over match

Tamil Nadu qualified for the semi-finals of the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy on the basis of more wins in the league stage after rain washed out their quarter-final against Punjab in Alur. The match was evenly poised at the time of the call off, but Tamil Nadu's nine out of nine wins to Punjab's five out of eight saw them through.

Due to a wet outfield, the game itself started 45 minutes late, as a 47-over contest, and was further reduced to 39-overs-a-side when a passing shower brought a pre-mature end to Tamil Nadu's innings. At that stage, Tamil Nadu were 174 for 6, thanks to B Aparajith's 56.

Chasing a VJD-adjusted target of 195, Punjab reached 52 for 2 in 12.2 overs before it started raining again, this time bringing a complete end to play.

ALSO READ: Dinesh Karthik tells the story of Tamil Nadu's nine wins in a row

Tamil Nadu had a nervy start after being put in. Abhinav Mukund tried to impose himself but ended up chopping Sandeep Sharma onto his stumps. M Vijay struck two fours, flicking Sidharth Kaul's pace with ease over midwicket, but he missed the same shot against left-arm spinner Karan Kalia and was lbw for 22.

When Mayank Markande dismissed Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu were 82 for 3. Aparajith and Dinesh Karthik took the side past 100 before Karthik pulled a long hop from Markande straight to short midwicket.

Aparajith though kept chipping away and took his tournament tally past 500. Along the way, he smashed a free hit from Sanvir Singh over long-on, pulled Sandeep over deep-backward square leg and brought up his fifty in 68 balls. Washington Sundar held it together at the other end as the duo added 51 in 59 balls. Aparajith was looking set for a big score but he ended up hitting an innocuous Gurkeerat Mann delivery straight to deep midwicket. In his next over, Mann dismissed Shahrukh Khan in the same manner as well.

Punjab lost Abhishek Sharma in the fourth over of their chase. Anmolpreet Singh hit a couple of boundaries before Sai Kishore got him caught-behind, leaving Punjab 37 for 2 at the end of seven overs. Sanvir hit a couple of good-looking drives to keep the chase on track but the rain had other plans.

Punjab 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st16Abhishek SharmaSanvir Singh
2nd21Anmolpreet SinghSanvir Singh
3rd15Mandeep SinghSanvir Singh

Vijay Hazare Trophy

Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
KER752201.553
MUM752201.158
TPURA743160.493
SAU743160.43
RLYS743160.226
ODSA743160.161
PONDI7258-0.922
SIKM7070-3.594
Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
VIDAR752201.349
MAHA752200.985
SVCS752200.39
HYD743160.899
CGR743160.451
JHK743160.136
MEGHA7164-1.361
MNPR7070-2.866
Group C
TeamMWLPTNRR
HRYNA770281.891
KNTKA761241.68
UKHND752200.691
CHD734120.777
DELHI734120.418
J + K72410-0.456
MIZO7164-3.298
BIHAR7062-2.116
Group D
TeamMWLPTNRR
RAJ660241.87
GUJ641180.91
UP642160.833
HP633120.824
AP6146-0.769
ASSAM6154-0.924
ARP6154-2.946
Group E
TeamMWLPTNRR
BENG651202.1
TN651200.944
MP642160.478
PNJB633120.8
BRODA633120.07
GOA6154-0.303
NAGA6060-6.273