Mushtaq Ali Trophy: TN beat Goa for third straight win

CHENNAI: For Tamil Nadu, the oppositions have changed but the result and the manner in which it has been accomplished hasn't changed much. A Dinesh Karthik half-century followed by the spin choke powered Tamil Nadu to their third consecutive win in the ongoing T20 League (South Zone) at Vizianagaram on Thursday.
Karthik's 43-ball 56, his third half-century in as many games, helped TN register a comfortable 25-run victory over Goa.With the win, TN hold on to their top slot in the South Zone table with 12 points and are followed by Karnataka at 8 points with a net run rate of +0.603.
With regular skipper Vijay Shankar back, TN opted to bat. Allrounder Washington Sundar (14), alongside Abhinav Mukund (12) got TN off the blocks quickly. However, by the seventh over, TN had lost three wickets including Vijay with 53 runs on the board.
It was once again left to the experienced Karthik (6x4s, 1x6s) and vice-captain B Aparajith (26) to build the platform. A 54-run stand from the duo for the fourth-wicket, followed by a late cameo from left-arm spinning allrounder R Sanjay Yadav (28 no, 1x4s, 2x6s) propelled TN past the 150-run mark.
TN eventually ended up at 155 for five in 20 overs with Goa offspinner Amogh Desai claiming three for 25. Desai returned with the bat at the top to brighten things further for Goa. His 18-ball 25, with five fours, gave Goa a decent start even as pacer K Vignesh dismissed veteran Swapnil Asnodkar for nine in the third over.
The introduction of spinners Washington (2/20) and leg-spinner M Ashwin (2/22) tilted the contest in favour of TN. Washington trapped Desai lbw in the last over of powerplay, while Ashwin struck the pads of No. 4 Keena (3) in the 7th over to reduced Goa to 45/3.
Skipper Sagun Kamat (41, 42 balls) did his best to hold the innings together. However, the TN spin quartet of Washington, Ashwin, B Aparajith and R Sai Kishore (1/6) had a tight leash on the Goa batsmen and restricted them to 130/7 in 20 overs.
TN will face Karnataka in their fourth round match at the Dr PVG Raju ACA Sports Complex, Vizianagaram, on Friday.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 155/5 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 56, Amogh Desai 3/22). Goa 130/7 in 20 overs (Sagun Kamat 41). TN won by 25 runs.