Bengal snatch defeat as Manish Pandey takes Karnataka into Mushtaq Ali T20 semi-final
New Delhi, Nov 18: Manish Pandey first got a brilliant direct hit to take their match against Bengal into Super Over and then hit a massive six to steer Karnataka into the semi-finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Thursday.
It was one of the best thrillers of National T20 meet in recent times with both teams locked at 160 each after 20 overs. Karnataka scored the required six runs with four Super Over deliveries to spare.
In a debatable decision, skipper Sudeep Chatterjee sent an off-colour Kaif Ahmed along with Ritwik Roy Chowdhury in the Super Over was baffling.
Ahmed had barely scratched to score 20 off 26 balls.
Surprisingly, Ritwik, who brought Bengal back in contention with 36 off 18 balls, did not take the strike in the Super Over.
The quarter-final match was a testimony as to why Bengal's cricketers are not at all sought after when it comes franchise interest.
A lot of it had to do with lack of sane cricketing sense and the manner in which some of the batters throw away their wickets.
Barring Writtick Chatterjee (51 off 40 balls), who tried to anchor the innings, others paid the price of indiscreet shot selection.
While Shreevats Goswami (22 off 10 balls) started with 20 off the first over of chase with three fours and a six off Vijay Kumar Vyshak (0/41 in 4 overs), his opening partner Abhishek Das with a career strike-rate of less than 90, tried to pull the very first delivery of the next over when all he needed to do was give his senior partner the strike.
Goswami, who looked in good touch, went for a non-existent second run and bowler KC Cariappa (0/21 in 4 overs) effected a fine run-out.
Skipper Sudeep Chatterjee couldn't clear the in-field off military medium bowler MB Darshan as the ball hit the toe-end of his bat.
Kaif Ahmed (20 off 26 balls) added 49 with Chatterjee before being bowled by left-arm spinner J Suchith (2/24 in 4 overs), who also accounted for Shahbaz Ahmed in the very next delivery.
However former India U-25 all-rounder Ritwik, showed some great temperament. He hit two huge sixes in the final over from Vidyadhar Patil and his partner Akash Deep hit a boundary to bring the equation of 19 from 6 balls to one run off final delivery.
Akash Deep, who was recruited by RCB, instead of trying an aerial route went for a non-existent single with fielders circling him and to his horror, it went to one of India's finest ever fielders Pandey, who picked and threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end in one action.
Pandey, who till then was having an ordinary day, then came in and hit Mukesh Kumar for a six to set up a semi-final date with Vidarbha.
Earlier, Karun Nair had scored 55 off 29 balls to take Karnataka to 160 for 5 which gave them a chance to fight.
Brief Scores:
Karnataka 160/5 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 55 not out ).
Bengal 160/8 in 20 overs. (Writtick C 51, Ritwik RC 36, J Suchith 2/24).
Super Over: Bengal 6/2 in 0.4 overs. Karnataka 8/0 in 0.2 balls.
Wonderful throw by Manish Pandey to make into a super over !!!!#karvsben #smat2021 #SyedMushtaqAliTrophy#SyedMushtaqAliT20pic.twitter.com/DzKTwbWTdj
— CRICKET VIDEOS 🏏 (@AbdullahNeaz) November 18, 2021
And it's a Six from Manish Pandey 🔥👌
— Ash MSDian™🦁💛 (@ashMSDIAN7) November 18, 2021
Karnataka Chased down 6 runs in 2 deliveries (Super over) and entered into the semi finals 👏#KARvBEN | #SMAT | #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/nSDHGsNyxP
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
