Syed Mushtaq Ali: Chahar's fifer helps Rajasthan stun Karnataka; Bengal beat Delhi

Pacer Deepak Chahar took five wickets as Rajasthan pulled off an upset by beating the more fancied Karnataka by 22 runs in a Group A Super League clash of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at the Jadavpur University campus ground here on Tuesday.

Chahar bagged career-best figures of 5/15 from four overs to skittle Karnataka out for 138 in 20 overs after Rajasthan posted 160/8 being put in to bat first.

For Karnataka -- who have a famed batting line-up only Aniruddha Joshi (73 not out) and K. Gowtham (13) -- could manage double-digit scores in a disappointing run chase.

With this win, Rajasthan have eight points from two games, while Karnataka remained winless after the same number of matches.

Batting first, Rajasthan's Aditya Garhwal (31) and Ankit Lamba (58) gave their side a good start.

Lamba also added 67 runs for the second wicket with Salman Khan (20), but Rajasthan didn't find too many contributors after that as Karnataka skipper R.Vinay Kumar (2/29) and Sreenath Aravind (3/25) picked up the wickets to put a lid on their rivals' run flow.

The Rajasthan bowlers showed their intent from the very beginning as Lamba got rid of Karun Nair off the fifth ball of the opening over.

Chahar then accounted for R.Samarth and the promoted Abhimanyu Mithun off the fourth and fifth deliveries of his second over.

Chahar, who played a vital role in Rajasthan winning their opener against Jharkhand with an all-round effort on Monday, was on a hat-trick once again in his third over as he removed C.M. Gautam and Stuart Binny off the first two deliveries, only to miss out again, but by then, Karnataka were reduced to 24/5 inside Powerplay.

Joshi defied the odds and kept Karnataka in the game with a scorching 45-ball 73 with three sixes and eight fours, but none of the other batsmen rose to the occasion.

"I am happy with my performance today. This was crucial before IPL auction," Chahar told reporters after the game.

In another Group B match at the same venue, Bengal recovered from a disappointing loss on Monday against Uttar Pradesh to snap Delhi's two-game winning run. Bengal won by three runs riding Kanishk Seth's 3/25.

Chasing 171 for victory, Dhruv Shorey (84 off 46 balls) racked up his second fifty on the trot hitting seven fours and four sixes but it was still not enough for the visitors.

With Lalit Yadav (45), Shorey stitched a 88-run stand for the fifth wicket but Sayan Ghosh removed both the batsmen in one over.

Earlier, electing to bat after winning the toss, Bengal rode Sudip Chatterjee's 51 to post 170.

Brief Scores:

Rajasthan 160/8 (Ankit Lamba 58, Aditya Garhwal 31; Sreenath Aravind 3/25, Vinay Kumar 2/29) beat Karnataka 138 (Aniruddha Joshi 73 not out; Deepak Chahar 5/15, Chandrapal Singh 2/31) by 22 runs.

Bengal 170/6 (Sudip Chatterjee 51, Vivek Singh 32, Manoj Tiwary 25; Pradeep Sangwan 2/27, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/25) beat Delhi 167/8 (Dhruv Shorey 84, Lalit Yadav 45; Kanishk Seth 3/25, Sayan Ghosh 3/24).

--IANS

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