Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Spinners rule the roost as TN thrashes Sikkim

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu bowlers spun a web around the Sikkim batters as the double defending champion notched up its second successive victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a comfortable nine-wicket win in Lucknow on Friday.

In the Elite Group E match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Tamil Nadu, which had lost to Chhattisgarh in its opener but bounced back with a victory over Odisha, bundled Sikkim out for 79 after opting to bowl first. The spinners, led by left-arm orthodox bowler R Sai Kishore (3/7 off 4 overs), were too good as they combined for as many as eight wickets.

In the second essay, Tamil Nadu knocked off the runs in just 9.4 overs, riding on an unbeaten half-century from opener Narayan Jagadeesan (58 off 35 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixes).

In the first innings, Sai Kishore, who was brought into the attack in the fifth over, bagged the first three wickets – Anwesh (11), skipper Ashish Thapa (0) and Sumit (5) – to reduce Sikkim to 36 for three in the seventh over. Sikkim, already in a spot of bother, did itself no favour when its opener Pankaj, the team’s top-scorer with 22 runs, was dismissed run-out.

The Sikkim batters continued to go down like ninepins as the team lost its last six wickets for just 20 runs – from 59 for four in the 13th over to 79 all-out in the 20th.

Sanjay Yadav (2/11 off 3 overs) chipped in with two scalps while fellow left-arm spinner Manimaran Siddharth (2/8 off 3 overs), who came on as ‘Impact Player’ replacing pacer Sandeep Warrier, cleaned up the Sikkim lower-order. Vice-captain and off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar (1/18) was the other wicket taker for the southern side.

In the chase, Tamil Nadu cruised to its target with 10.2 overs left in the bank, after Jagadeesan and B Sai Sudharsan (16) shared 54 runs for the first wicket. Jagadeesan and Sanjay (5 not out) were in the middle when the Baba Aparajith-led side got home.

Tamil Nadu, which now has two wins and one loss, will next face Bengal at the Ekana Stadium on Sunday.

BRIEF SCORES: Sikkim 79 in 20 overs (R Sai Kishore 3/7, M Siddharth 2/8, Sanjay Yadav 2/11) lost to Tamil Nadu 80/1 in 9.4 overs (N Jagadeesan 58*)