Dinesh Karthik Stars Again As Tamil Nadu Thrash Bengal

Dinesh Karthik continued his impress run with the bat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, helping Tamil Nadu thrash Bengal by 74 runs. Dinesh Karthik, who lost his place in the Indian team after the World Cup, scored his third fifty in four games as Tamil Nadu notched up their fourth straight win in the Group ‘C’.  The right-handed batsman scored 97 off 62 balls with the help of 8 fours and 4 sixes.

Asked to bat first, Tamil Nadu were in a spot of bother at 123 for 5 in the 37th over before recovering to finish with 286 for 7 in 50 overs. Karthik and Shahrukh Khan (69 not out, 45 balls, 4 fours, 5 sixes) were the chief architects of the revival with their century-plus stand.  The two added 153 runs 12 overs, smashing the Bengal bowlers all over the park.

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In reply, Bengal were bowled out for 212 in 45.3 overs, thanks to a disciplined effort by the Tamil Nadu bowlers.  Tamil Nadu medium-pacers K Vignesh (2 for 26) and T Natarajan (2 for 33) reduced Bengal to 21 for 5 before the left-handed Shahbaz (107, 131 balls, 7 fours, 6 sixes) fought back single-handedly. However, his heroic knock went in vain as Vignesh, Natarajan and Aparajith kept Tamil Nadu on top.

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Earlier in the game, Bengal bowlers made the most of bowling first. N Jagadeesan (8) departed in the 5th over as Bengal took command early on. Only B Aparajith (34) made a significant contribution among the top-order batsmen. However, the bowlers failed to finish strongly which eventually saw their team lose the game.

Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has scored 52*, 95 and 97 in the three innings he has batted thus far. The wicketkeeper-batsman will be desperately hoping that the selectors are keeping an eye on him and will give him yet another chance.

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Brief scores:

Tamil Nadu 286 for 7 in 50 overs (Dinesh Karthik 97, Shahrukh Khan 69 not out, Vijay Shankar 41, Ashoke Dinda 2/60) beat Bengal 212 all out in 45.3 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 107, K Vignesh 2/26).