Rajasthan 267 (Tomar 111, Lomror 60, Varun 5-52) beat Tamilnadu 248 (Jagadeesan 65, Vijay Shankar 49, Shekhawat 3-60) by 19 runs
Rajasthan were on their way to over 300 after losing the toss, reaching 182 for 1 in the 32nd over when Varun took three wickets in three overs to trigger a slide. He first bowled Mahipal Lomror for 60 on an error that slipped in, pitched and squared the left-hander to hit the top of stump.
Having broken the 160-run stand between Tomar and Lomror, Varun bowled Deepak Hooda with a carrom ball as he attempted to mow towards the leg side. His third wicket was centurion Tomar, holing out for 111 off 125 balls. He picked up two more wickets to finish with 5 for 52 in nine overs.
Rajasthan lost nine wickets for 83 and were bowled out for 267 in 47.3 overs. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore and seamer Sandeep Warrier picked up two wickets each.
Tamil Nadu responded with a quickfire opening partnership of 60 in 6.5 overs before Khaleel Ahmed bowled slower opener Tushar Raheja for 11 off 20 balls. N Jagadeesan raced to a half-century, hitting Aman Shekhawat for six fours in an over that included five wides to cost Rajasthan 29 runs. However, his dismissal for 65 off 52 balls caused panic in Tamil Nadu’s chase.
B Indrajith and Vijay Shankar kept the innings going and at the start of the 36th over, Tamil Nadu needed 83 runs with five wickets in hand. However, S Mohammed Ali’s break for a run-a-ball 34 tipped the game towards Rajasthan.
Shekhawat, the fast bowler who had Indrajith trapped, bowled Vijay Shankar for 49 and sealed the game by dismissing Varun for 18 in a close finish. He finished with 3 for 60 as Rajasthan, runners-up of the previous Vijay Hazare Trophy, entered the last eight bowling Tamil Nadu for 248 in 47.1 overs.
