Thiruvananthapuram: Rajesh Bishnoi's sparkling unbeaten 76 set up Rajasthan's seven-wicket win over Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy National Twenty20 Championships here on Friday.
Rajasthan, chasing a victory target of 165, romped home with three overs to spare. Bishnoi's 51-ball knock contained three fours and six sixes. He added 69 for the second wicket in the company of Ankit Lamba (35) and an unbeaten 83 for the forth wicket along with Arjit Gupta (44 not out). Arjit's whirlwind 22-ball knock included five sixes and a four.
Earlier, Sanju Samson's 39-ball 53 took Kerala to 164/6 after being put in to bat. Sanju hit four fours and two sixes. Sachin Baby (47) and opener Vishnu Vinod (36) were other main run-getters for Kerala. Medium-pacers Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed claimed two wickets apiece for Rajasthan.
Kerala, who have 12 points from five games, meet Uttar Pradesh in their final Group B game on Sunday.
Brief scores: Kerala 164/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 53, Sachin Baby 47; Deepak Chahar 2/29, Khaleel Ahmed 2/28) lost to Rajasthan 167/3 in 17 overs (Rajesh Bishnoi 76 not out, Arjit Gupta 44 not out).
Points: Rajasthan 4; Kerala 0.