Mumbai, Mar 23: Punjab beat Assam by nine wickets in the second pre-quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Brabourne Stadium to qualify for the quarter-finals of the domestic T20 competition.

Opting to field first, Harbhajan Singh’s Punjab side restricted Assam to 116 for the loss of nine wickets. Assam opener Pallabh Das was run out in the first over with just one run on the board, courtesy a direct hit by Amitoz Singh. SS Roy, who replaced him at the crease, then stitched a 59-run partnership with Dheeraj Jadhav before being claimed by Amitoz for 27. The batsman was earlier dropped on 20 by Mandeep Singh off the skipper.

Parveez Aziz, who came in to bat next, added 28 runs for the third wicket before being sent back. Mandeep Singh, who dismissed Aziz, also claimed Rojdeep Das and Preetam Das in the same over to leave Assam on 90 for the loss of five wickets at the end of the fifteenth over.

After the loss of three quick wickets in one over, the Assam line-up caved in. An over later, Dheeraj Jadhav edged VRV Singh to the wicketkeeper and missed out on a half-century by just two runs while Gokul Sharma was run out by Amitoz on the last ball of the same over. Harbhajan Singh struck in the next over to pick the wicket of Dheeraj Goswami. Tarjinder Singh and Abu Nechim Ahmed then added 20 runs before the latter was castled by VRV off the last ball of the innings.

Chasing a modest 117, Ishan Malhotra nicked Abu Nechim to the wicketkeeper to walk back to the dressing room in the first over. But Gurkirat Mann, who replaced Malhotra at the crease, tormented the Assam bowlers. The batsman hit Abu Nechim for four boundaries in the third over, which yielded 17 runs, and later hit Tarjinder for two sixes on the way to his 50 which came off 26 deliveries. Kanwar played the anchor as Mann led the charge against Assam. The duo led Punjab to victory with an unbroken 109-run partnership, with nine overs to spare. Kanwar was unbeaten on 47 off 24, while Mann scored 62 off 38 (10x4, 2x6) not out, as their team reached 118 for the loss of one wicket.

Brief score: Assam 116/9 in 20 overs (D Jadhav 48, VRV Singh 2/10, Mandeep Singh 3/22) lost to Punjab 118/1 in 11 overs (Gurkirat Singh 62*, Sarul Kanwar 47*) by 9 wickets