Perform well when it matters and dependable batsman of Chhattisgarh Amandeep Narayan Khare showed a great temperament in their opening T20 match against Himachal Pradesh, played at Baroda under Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on January 10. Similarly, all-rounder Vishal Singh Kushwah claimed three wickets for the state in his three overs and conceded only 18 runs to ensure Chhattisgarh even though Chhattisgarh lost the match by 32 runs.
Winning the toss, Chhattisgarh opted to field first. Put into bat, Himachal Pradesh scored a competitive total of 173 for five in the stipulated 20 overs. R I Thakur scored highest 53 off 36 balls including five fours and three sixes while E C Sain scored 38 off 18 including three sixes and two fours. Similarly, P S Chopra made 28 off 30 and A P Vashisth scored 25 off 18. Vishal claimed three scalps of Himachal while Anand Rao and Ajay Mandal took one each. While Ajay conseced 17 in his two over spell, Anand gave away 24 in three overs.
Chasing the target, Chhattisgarh could score 141 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. Except Amandeep who remained unbeaten on 87 in 60 balls including five fours and five sixes, no other batsmen lived upto the expectations with the bat. Only Vishal and Anand Rao could reach the double figure as they scored 11 and 10 respectively.
Chhattisgarh also lost their second match of the tournament, played on Tuesday. Winning the toss, Chhattisgarh elected to bat first and piled up a healthy total of 192 for five as Rishabh Tiwari made 44 off 30 (5 fours), Shashank Chandrakar scored 44 off 38 (4 fours, 2 sixes), Harpreet Singh Bhatia contributed 42 off 21 (3 fours and 3 sixes) and Shashank Singh made 24 off 8 (2 fours, 2 sixes).
Chasing the target, Maharashtra lost two wickets to score 196, thereby winning the match by 8 wickets. Kedar Yadav scored 84 of 45 (five fours and five sixes) and remained unbeaten while N S Shaikh made 78 off 44) and remained unbeaten. Vishal Singh Kuhshwah and Virpratap Singh took one wicket each.
 including five sixes and as many fours while Vishal Singh Kushwah took three wickets){kind=link}