Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Rajesh Bishnoi blitzkrieg dents Kerala's hopes

Kerala's hopes of entering the knockout phase of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament hang by a thread as they went down to Rajasthan by seven wickets at the Sports Hub in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
The man who dashed Kerala's hopes was Rajasthan batsman Rajesh Bishnoi. Bishnoi, who hit an unbeaten 87 against Uttar Pradesh, continued from where he left on Wednesday by powering his way to yet another unconquered knock of 76 from just 51 deliveries to steer his team to victory with three overs to spare.
The Kerala bowlers, who had done a commendable job to script the hosts' victory over Vidarbha, let themselves down against Rajasthan as they appeared listless against Bishnoi's onslaught.
Chasing 165 for victory, Rajasthan lost opener Manendra Singh (3) to seamer Asif KM in just the second over. But in walked Bishnoi and he took the match by the scruff off the neck with a blistering knock. The No.3 batsman treated spinners and seamers with disdain and smashed six sixes and three fours. The man who bore the brunt of Bishnoi carnage was Kerala's pace spearhead Sandeep Warrier, who conceded 52 runs in his four overs without picking a wicket. With Ankit Lamba (35 off 19) and Arjit Guha (44* off 22 balls) joining the party, Rajasthan made a mockery of the chase and kept their qualification hopes alive.
Batting first, Sanju Samson's fluent half-century (53 off 39 balls, 4x4, 2x6) and Sachin Baby's 29-ball 47 (3x4, 3x6) proved to be the cornerstone of Kerala's innings as they managed to put up a total of 164 for six in 20 overs.
In another game, Tamil Nadu coasted to an eight-wicket win over Tripura to put themselves on the verge of qualification from Group B. Opting to bat, Tripura were in dire straits at nine for seven but a rearguard action from Saurabh Sankar Das (44) and Neelambuj Vats (28) helped them recover to 79 for eight in 20 overs.
For Tamil Nadu, R Sai Kishore claimed four wickets while T Natajaran picked three. Promoted to open the batting, southpaw Washington Sundar hit a breezy 46 while his partner Baba Aparajith made a well-composed 33 to help Tamil Nadu make short work of Tripura's target. Though both got out before victory, Tamil Nadu cruised home in 12.1 overs with eight wickets to spare.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh coasted to a seven-wicket win over Tripura at the St Xavier's College Ground, Thumba.
Tamil Nadu and Vidarbha occupy the top two spots in Group B with 16 points each and the winner of the match between the two on Sunday will emerge champion of the group. The loser could also progress to the knockout phase of the tournament though it would come down to head-to-head and net run rate as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala all have a chance of making 16 points.
Brief scores: Kerala 164/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 53, Sachin Baby 47, Khaleel Ahmed 2/28) lost to Rajasthan 167/3 in 17 overs (Rajesh Bishnoi 76no, Arjit Gupta 44no, M Midhun 1/30) by 7 wickets
Tripura 79/8 in 20 overs (Saurabh Das 44, Neelambuj Vats 28, Sai Kishore 4/6) lost to Tamil Nadu 80/2 in 12.1 overs (Washington Sundar 46, Baba Aparajith 33) by 8 wickets
Manipur 87/7 in 20 overs (Rex Singh 30, Kabrambam Meitei 14, Mohsin Khan 2/9 lost to Uttar Pradesh 93/3 in 12.4 overs (Rinku Singh 39no, Upendra Yadav 20no, Bisworjit Konthoujam 1/6) by 7 wickets