Chhattisgarh thrash Sikkim as Sumit Ruikar claims maiden hat-trick

RAIPUR: Left arm spinner Sumit Ruikar’s maiden hat-trick since he made his first-class debut in 2012-13 helped Chhattisgarh restrict Sikkim to 52 runs in a T20 match played at Lucknow under the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy on Sunday. Chhattisgarh won the match by nine wickets and 13.1 overs to spare.

Winning the toss, Sikkim opted to bat first. Except Ashish Thapa (17 off 25) and Ankur (11 off 16), no other batsmen could reach double figures. The team was bundled out for 52 runs in 14.5 overs.

Ruikar claimed three wickets in three balls to rip through the batting line up of Sikkim. He conceded 16 runs in his four overs. Similarly, spinners Ajay Mandal and Shubham Agrawal claimed two scalps each of Sikkim while pacers Ravi Kiran and Shahban Khan took one each.

Chasing the target of 53, Chhattisgarh won the match in 6.1 overs as experienced Amandeep Khare, the former India U-19 team member, remained unbeaten on 34 from 25 balls including six fours and one six. Shashank Singh remained unbeaten on 9 from five balls as he hit one six.