Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after Andhra vs Chhattisgarh Red
Kerala stunned Jharkhand in the tournament opener of the Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup with a seven-wicket win. In the second contest of the season, Andhra came out on top over Chhattisgarh Red by eight wickets.
Shifting our focus to the first game of the edition, Jharkhand batted first and had a decent start with openers Saurabh Tiwary and Nazim Siddiqui putting up a 43-run stand for the first wicket. Unfortunately, for Jharkhand, their middle-order couldn’t live up to expectations as they crumbled in the middle overs.
However, the late blitz by the lower order batter Bhanu Anand (35* off 22) took their side to a below-par total of 131/7 in 20 overs. Vinoop Manoharan, the Kerala off-spinner, was the standout bowler in the first innings.
In their pursuit of a 132-run target, Kerala started off well after losing their opener Vishnu Raj quite early. Opening partners Anand Krishnan, Ajnas M, and Sachin Baby put up a decent show, taking their team over the line in just 16 overs with seven wickets remaining.
Turning to the second match of the season, Chhattisgarh Red batted first after losing the toss. They got off to a promising start with their openers Shashank Chandraker and Anuj Tiwary forging a 106-run opening partnership. However, after reaching their respective fifties, other batters failed to move the score forward as they could post 177/6 in 20 overs.
In reply, Andhra batters were all over the opposition bowlers after losing their opener Pranith for just one run. Ashwin Hebbar came out all guns blazing, scoring a 111-run unbeaten knockoff in just 64 balls with 10 fours and six sixes.
He received very good support from his partner Shaik Rasheed, who scored 44 runs. Andhra, after losing just two wickets, sealed the deal in 18.4 overs.
On that note, let's take a look at the tournament standings after the first day’s play.
Kerala led all the way
Kerala, after their thumping victory over Jharkhand, sealed the top position with a positive net run rate of 1.7. Andhra jumped to the second position with a win over Chhattisgarh Red with a net run rate of 0.601.
Chhattisgarh Red and Jharkhand occupied the fifth and sixth ranks with their respective defeats. Chhattisgarh Blue and Madhya Pradesh are yet to make their appearance in the competition.