Puducherry stun Bengal by 81 runs,

Hyderabad, Dec 6 (PTI) Spinners Jayant Yadav and Sidak Singh outshone out-of-favour India pacer Mohammed Shami with four and three wickets respectively as Puducherry stunned Bengal by 81 runs in a Group C match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Saturday.

Electing to field first, Bengal restricted Puducherry to 177 for 5 with veteran Shami taking three wickets for 34 runs from his four overs. He was well supported by off-spinner Writtick Chatterjee (2/53) while pacer Akash Deep went wicketless.

For Puducherry, captain Aman Khan top-scored with a strokeful 40-ball 74, studded with five fours and seven sixes, while Jashwanth Shreeram contributed 45.

Chasing 178 for a win, Bengal were bowled out for 96 in just 13.5 overs, with off-spinner Jayant taking four wickets for 28 runs from his four overs, while left-arm spinner Sidak returned with stunning figures of 3 for 9 from his three overs.

Adil Ayub Tunda and Aman got one wicket each.

For Bengal, Karan Lal top-scored with 40 off 23 balls while his opening partner Abhishek Porel and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran made 11 and 12 respectively. All other Bengal batters could not reach double digit figures.

Abhishek shines again with a half century ========================== World No 1 T20 batter Abhishek Sharma shone yet agains in Punjab's 73-run thrashing of Services.

Opening with Prabhsimran Singh after Punjab were asked to bat, Abhishek smashed 62 off 34 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes to guide his side to 233 for 6 in 20 overs.

Against Puducherry on Thursday, Abhishek had smashed a nine-ball-34 and then taken 3 for 23 with his left-arm spin in Punjab's 54-run win.

Prabhsimran made 50 off 28 balls while Naman Dhir contributed 54 off just 22 deliveries at No 4 as Punjab made merry in their innings.

Punjab bowlers then complemented their batting colleagues' top show, shooting Services out for 160 in 19.4 overs.

Just like in the previous match, Abhishek took two wickets for eight runs from his two overs. Sanvir Singh and Harpreet Brar also got two wickets apiece to derail the Services run chase.

In another Day/Night match, Haryana won by eight runs against Baroda who were without Hardik Pandya.

Opting to field first, Baroda restricted Haryana to 174 for 7 with Atit Sheth taking two wickets for 48 runs. Baroda, however, failed to chase down the target of 175, scoring 166 for 7 in 20 overs.

Hardik has joined the Indian team for the T20I series against the visiting South Africans, starting in Cuttack on Tuesday.

Anshul Kamboj shone yet against with figures of 4/23 from four overs, to add to his 3/44 in Haryana's win over Himachal Pradesh on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Gujarat beat Himachal Pradesh by one wicket in a thrilling last-ball finish.

Put in to bat, Himachal Pradesh made 193 for 8 with Mridul Surroch top-scoring with 88 off 48 deliveries. Opener Innesh Mahajan and Akash Vasisht chipped in with 36 and 49 respectively.

Harshal Patel, Arzan Nagwaswalla and Japagnya Bhatt took two wickets apiece for Gujarat.

Gujarat overhauled the target in the final ball of the run chase. Captain Urvil Patel (39), Aarya Desai (37) and Saurav Chauhan (35) made valuable contributions though no batter scored big.

For Himachal, Mridul Surroch was the most successful bowlers with three wickets for 45 runs.

Brief Scores: Puducherry 177 for 5 in 20 overs (Aman Khan 74; Mohammed Shami 3/34) beat Bengal 96 all out in 13.5 overs (Jayant Yadav 4/28, Sidak Singh 3/9) by 81 runs.

Himachal Pradesh 193 for 8 in 20 overs (Mridul Surroch 88; Japagnya Bhatt 2/31) lost to Gujarat 194 for 9 in 20 overs (Urvil Patel 39; Mridul Surroch 3/45) by one wicket.

Haryana 174 for 7 in 20 overs (Yashvardhan Dalal 57; Atit Sheth 2/48) beat Baroda 166 for 5 (Atit Sheth 44; Anshul Kamboj 4/23) by 8 runs.

Punjab 233 for 6 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 62, Prabhsimran Singh 50, Naman Dhir 54; Abhishek Tiwari 2/43) beat Services 160 all out in 19.4 overs (Abhishek Tiwari 40; Abhishek Sharma 2/8). PTI PDS AT PDS DDV