Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Assam dash Kerala's semifinal hopes

Chandigarh: Sumit Ghadigaonkar guided Assam past Kerala by six wickets into the semifinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy national T20 championship here on Thursday.

Chasing 159, Assam were home and dry with 17 balls to spare.

Ghadigaonkar produced 75 off 50 balls, while Sibsankar Roy chipped in with 42 not out.

Earlier, Salman Nizar and Abdul Bazith helped Kerala set Assam a victory target of 159.

The two put on 101 off 72 balls to lift Kerala from a precarious 44/5. 

Kerala lost wickets up front after being put in to bat.

Openers Rohan Kunnummal (nine) and Varun Nayanar (seven) fell cheaply. Captain Sanju Samson was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Mrinmoy Dutta.

Vishnu Vinod made 16, while Shreyas Gopal could not open his account as Kerala lost half their side for 44 in the seventh over.

However, Nizar and Bazith made sure Kerala ended up with a fighting total. 

Bazith scored 54 off 42 balls, while Nizar remained unbeaten on 57 off 44 deliveries. 

Kerala had topped Group B, with their lone loss coming at the hands of Assam in a low-scoring thriller.

Brief scores: Kerala 158/6 in 20 overs (Salman Nizar 57 not out, Abdul Bazith 54; Akash Sengupta 3/29, Mrinmoy Dutta 2/41) lost to Assam 162/4 in 17.1 overs (Sumit Ghadigaonkar 75, Sibsankar Roy 42 not out; Sijomon Joseph 2/17).