Nitish Kumar Reddy hat-trick fails to prevent defeat for Andhra

Nitish Kumar Reddy took a hat-trick for Andhra to reduce Madhya Pradesh (MP) to 14 for 3 in three overs in their 113 chase. It wasn't enough to prevent defeat for Andhra, though.

Not long after Reddy's hat-trick, MP were 37 for 4 in the seventh over when Venkatesh Iyer also fell.

But a 73-run fifth-wicket stand between Rishabh Chouhan and Rahul Batham ensured MP faced no further hiccups, and eventually won with four wickets and 15 balls to spare.

That gave MP four points to begin the Super League of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Chouhan and Batham batted patiently after the top-order collapse. While Chouhan scored 47 in 43 balls with six fours, Batham finished unbeaten on 35 in 32 deliveries.

Earlier, Reddy added 50 for the third wicket with KS Bharat after Andhra were themselves 7 for 2, having lost the toss. Right-arm seamer Tripuresh Singh had struck in the first over for MP, removing both Ashwin Hebbar and Shaik Rasheed for ducks. Iyer broke the stand between Reddy and Bharat when he had the latter caught and bowled for 39, and that started a collapse. Andhra lost 8 for 55 to be bowled out for 112 as Shivam Shukla bagged 4 for 23 - that included the wicket of Reddy for 23 - and Tripuresh got 3 for 31.

Batham also pocketed two wickets, as four Andhra batters were dismissed without scoring.

Andhra next play Punjab, while MP face Jharkhand - both on December 14.

Haryana asked Rajasthan to bat, and Ishant Bhardwaj and Anshul Kamboj reduced them to 29 for 4 within six overs. Mahipal Lomror and Shubham Garhwal briefly helped Rajasthan recover, while Rahul Chahar provided a late impetus with the bat. But their total of 132 didn't prove to be competitive enough.

Haryana won with seven wickets and 22 balls to spare as captain Ankit Kumar led the chase with 60 off 41 balls. While Ankit played a steady hand, his opening partner Arsh Ranga was the aggressor. Ranga smashed 27 off 12 balls - 24 in boundaries - to lay the foundation of the chase before Ankit and Yashvardhan Dalal added 52 for the second wicket.

Ankit fell within touching distance of the win when Chahar dismissed him in the 16th over. Chahar's 1 for 17 in four overs were the most economical figures for Rajasthan. Every other bowler went for at least nine runs an over.

The win was Haryana's fifth in a row in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, after they finished second in the group stage with four successive victories.