<p>Tamil Nadu on Tuesday defeated Punjab by seven wickets in their final Elite Group 'A' match to book a berth in the knockout phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.</p>.<p>Maharashtra, which beat Goa by 73 runs in another match, also qualified from the group as the second placed team.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra recorded four wins each to finish with 16 points but the former took the top position on the basis of having beaten Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co in their meeting.</p>.<p>While TN will qualify for the quarterfinals as a group topper, Maharashtra will feature in the pre-quarterfinals having qualified as second place team.</p>.<p>Skipper Vijay Shankar hammered a 40-ball 59 not out (3X4, 4X6) while N Jagadeesan 67 (47 balls, 6X4, 3X6) too found form as Tamil Nadu overhauled the target of 146 in 17.1 overs.</p>.<p>Earlier, Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh elected to bat and were restricted to 145 for 6 in 20 overs with only opener Shubman Gill (34, 30 balls, 5X4) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (43, 30 balls, 2X4, 2X6) making significant contributions.</p>.<p>For Tamil Nadu, medium-pacer Sandeep Warrier was the best bowler with 2 for 20, while spinners R Sai Kishore (1/20) and B Aparajith (1/18) and seamer T Natarajan (1/43) were the other wicket-takers.</p>.<p>In the Maharashtra-Goa match, Gaikwad missed out on a half-century, falling for 44 while opener Yash Nahar hit a ton (103 not out, 68 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixers) to help the team reach 177 for 3 in 20 overs.</p>.<p>In reply, Goa was never in the hunt as the Maharashtra bowlers kept striking at regular intervals with left-arm spinner Satyajit Bachhav (3 for 27) doing most of the damage.</p>.<p><strong>Brief scores:</strong></p>.<p>Maharashtra 177 for 3 in 20 overs (Yash Nahar 103 not out, Ruturaj Gaikwad 44) beat Goa 104 all out in 18.1 overs (Shubham Ranjane 35, SS Bachhav 3/27, M G Choudhary 2/16) by 73 runs. Maharashtra: 4 points, Goa : 0.</p>.<p>Punjab 145 for 6 in 20 overs (Gurkeerat Singh Mann 43 not out, Shubman Gill 34, Sandeep Warrier 2/20) lost to Tamil Nadu 148 for 3 in 17.1 overs (N Jagadeesan 67, Vijay Shankar 59 not out) by seven wickets. TN: 4 points, Punjab: 0.</p>.<p>Odisha 132 for 7 in 20 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 39, Suboth Bhati 4/27, Bharat Sharma 2/19) lost to Pondicherry 136 for 4 in 19 overs (Paras Dogra 54 not out, R Ragupathy 39) by six wickets. Pondicherry: 4 points, Odisha: 0. </p>
<p>Tamil Nadu on Tuesday defeated Punjab by seven wickets in their final Elite Group 'A' match to book a berth in the knockout phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.</p>.<p>Maharashtra, which beat Goa by 73 runs in another match, also qualified from the group as the second placed team.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra recorded four wins each to finish with 16 points but the former took the top position on the basis of having beaten Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co in their meeting.</p>.<p>While TN will qualify for the quarterfinals as a group topper, Maharashtra will feature in the pre-quarterfinals having qualified as second place team.</p>.<p>Skipper Vijay Shankar hammered a 40-ball 59 not out (3X4, 4X6) while N Jagadeesan 67 (47 balls, 6X4, 3X6) too found form as Tamil Nadu overhauled the target of 146 in 17.1 overs.</p>.<p>Earlier, Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh elected to bat and were restricted to 145 for 6 in 20 overs with only opener Shubman Gill (34, 30 balls, 5X4) and Gurkeerat Singh Mann (43, 30 balls, 2X4, 2X6) making significant contributions.</p>.<p>For Tamil Nadu, medium-pacer Sandeep Warrier was the best bowler with 2 for 20, while spinners R Sai Kishore (1/20) and B Aparajith (1/18) and seamer T Natarajan (1/43) were the other wicket-takers.</p>.<p>In the Maharashtra-Goa match, Gaikwad missed out on a half-century, falling for 44 while opener Yash Nahar hit a ton (103 not out, 68 balls, 6 fours, 3 sixers) to help the team reach 177 for 3 in 20 overs.</p>.<p>In reply, Goa was never in the hunt as the Maharashtra bowlers kept striking at regular intervals with left-arm spinner Satyajit Bachhav (3 for 27) doing most of the damage.</p>.<p><strong>Brief scores:</strong></p>.<p>Maharashtra 177 for 3 in 20 overs (Yash Nahar 103 not out, Ruturaj Gaikwad 44) beat Goa 104 all out in 18.1 overs (Shubham Ranjane 35, SS Bachhav 3/27, M G Choudhary 2/16) by 73 runs. Maharashtra: 4 points, Goa : 0.</p>.<p>Punjab 145 for 6 in 20 overs (Gurkeerat Singh Mann 43 not out, Shubman Gill 34, Sandeep Warrier 2/20) lost to Tamil Nadu 148 for 3 in 17.1 overs (N Jagadeesan 67, Vijay Shankar 59 not out) by seven wickets. TN: 4 points, Punjab: 0.</p>.<p>Odisha 132 for 7 in 20 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 39, Suboth Bhati 4/27, Bharat Sharma 2/19) lost to Pondicherry 136 for 4 in 19 overs (Paras Dogra 54 not out, R Ragupathy 39) by six wickets. Pondicherry: 4 points, Odisha: 0. </p>