Mushtaq: Rahul, Pandey star in Karnatakas win over Tamil Nadu

Riding on blazing fifties by K L Rahul and skipper Manish Pandey, defending champions Karnataka thrashed Tamil Nadu by nine wickets to begin their Super League campaign in the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 on a winning note here on Thursday.

Karnataka chased a stiff 159-run target in just 16. 2 overs as Rahul (69 not out off 46 balls) and Pandey (52 not out off 33 balls) hammered a pedestrian Tamil Nadu attack in the premier domestic T20 tournament.

Rahul, who struck six boundaries and two sixes, stitched a 70-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (36 off 20 balls) for the opening wicket to lay the foundation of the win.

After Padikkal fell in the seventh over, in-form Manish Pandey joined forces with Rahul and the two took the side home with utmost east.

Pandey, too, was seen in his usual aggressive manner, hammering five fours and three sixes, as they toyed with the opposition bowling attack at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium here.

Earlier, put into bat, Tamil Nadu posted