Bengaluru, Sept 8: With six runs required off five balls, Pawan Kumar hit a six to help State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) beat Air India (AI) by a wicket and win the BCCI Corporate Trophy.

Kumar, suffering from cramps with SBH requiring seven runs off the last over with one wicket in hand, took his team to a memorable win having earlier picked a four-for that restricted Air India to 282 runs.

Put in to bat, Air India lost opener Paul Valthaty early in the innings while Dhawal Kulkarni, who replaced him at the crease, was trapped lbw soon after. With AI losing two wickets for just nine runs in the third over, Robin Uthappa (56 off 70 balls) and skipper Mohd. Kaif (88 off 127 balls) built a 102-run partnership to take their team to a competitive total. Later in the innings, wicketkeeper Naman Ojha also made a useful contribution, adding 48 off 36 balls.

40-year-old pacer Pawan Kumar claimed the key wickets of Valthaty, Kulkarni, Kaif and Sachin Rana while SBH captain Daniel Manhor took three wickets himself.

Chasing 283 to win, SBH opener TL Suman (57 off 36 balls), along with captain Manohar, stitched together a 70-run stand for the first wicket before the SBH captain was sent back by Pradeep Sangwan. Wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter leaving SBH floundering at 158 for the loss of five wickets.

Syed Quadri (45) and Akash Bhandari (31) consolidated their team’s position with a good partnership. But when the batsmen fell to Sangwan in quick succession, SBH were in trouble once again.

A late 19-ball cameo of 33 runs by Pawan Kumar, however, helped SBH beat the inaugural edition champions Air India by a margin of one wicket and with four balls to spare.

Pradeep Sangwan took three wickets for AI while Kulkarni and Rajat Bhatia claimed two apiece.

Brief Scores: Air India 282/9 in 50 overs (M Kaif 88, RV Uthappa 56, P Kumar 4/60, DS Manohar 3/37) lost to State Bank of Hyderabad 283/9 in 49.2 overs (TL Suman 57, SA Quadri 45, PJ Sangwan 3/49) by 1 wicket