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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Tharoor junks Rijiju's claim that he agreed Cong is 'anti-women'; hails his party
New Delhi (PTI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday debunked Union minister Kiren Rijiju's reported claim that the opposition party leader had agreed that the Congress is "anti-women", asserting that at no point did he imply any such thing and that his party has stood for women's rights and reservation.
Reacting to Rijiju's claims, Tharoor stressed that the Congress is totally in favour of women's reservation and prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation.
In a post on X, the Congress leader said, "I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for Kiren Rijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!"
"'That was what he meant', our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. 'That Congress can be anti-women...he agreed in a way,' he added. I am sorry but I did NOT agree in any way," Tharoor said.
"The Congress has stood for women's rights and women's reservation under a strong woman president in Sonia Gandhi, initiated the Women's Reservation Bill, passed it in the Rajya Sabha during our tenure and supported it in the Lok Sabha when it was brought by government of India in 2023," he said.
"We are totally in favour of women's reservation and are prepared to have it implemented right now -- without linking it to delimitation," the Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
Rijiju's reported comments came while narrating details of the conversation he had with Tharoor on April 18 after the end of the three-day special sitting of Parliament during which the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
Tharoor on April 18 had shared a snippet of his conversation with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju after the Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die, and said the BJP leader conceded that “no one could ever call me anti-women”.
Tharoor had said women are by far the better half of the species - 'Humans 2.0' - and deserve representation in Parliament and in every institution.
"Just don’t link their advancement to a mischievous and potentially dangerous Delimitation that could devastate our democracy," he had said on X.
Sharing a picture of some opposition MPs standing with Rijiju in the Lok Sabha, Tharoor had said, "A little post-adjournment gathering of Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha with our charming Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
"When Kiren Rijiju explained why he and his party were calling the Opposition 'mahila virodhi', it was pointed out to him that no one could ever call me anti-women! He conceded the point…"
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
The Bill proposed to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and UT assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
The three-day special sitting was convened from April 16 to 18 to secure Parliament's approval for the Bill.
After the bill was defeated, the Congress had said the "nefarious attempt" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to link their "dangerous delimitation proposals" to women's reservation had been decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha, calling it a win for democracy and the Constitution.
I am sorry, but with the greatest respect for @KirenRijiju, at no point did I say or imply any such thing -- and I have seven witnesses in the photograph who can confirm that!
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 28, 2026
"That was what he meant", our Minister says. No, sir, that is NOT what I meant. "That Congress can be… https://t.co/hkUsYgOY7a
