Tamil Nadu was ruthless in its annihilation of minnows Tripura in the Syed Musthaq Ali T20 cricket tournament at the Sports Hub here on Friday.
The southern powerhouse cantered to an eight-wicket win — its fourth in the tournament — after Tripura managed just 79 for eight in the 20 overs.
Washington Sundar (46) and B. Aparajith (33 not out) put on 72 runs for the first wicket as Tamil Nadu won with seven overs to spare.
Sai Kishore bowled a dream first over in which he took wickets off his first two deliveries as Tripura started on the wrong foot.
T. Natarajan joined the fun by knocking out Udiyan Bose's off stump. Thereafter it was a steady procession and at nine for seven, Tripura's own record for lowest score (30) was under threat.
However, Dinesh Karthik chose to bowl out his two successful bowlers much to the relief of the Tripura batsmen.
Saurabh Das (44) and Neelambuj Vats (28) began the repair work slowly. The eighth-wicket stand added 70 runs. But cricket was staid with Saurabh and Vats unleashing the odd big shots.
However, Saurabh flexed his broad shoulders in M. Ashwin's last over to add a few useful runs.
Tamil Nadu openers Washington and Aparajith were unhurried and the wayward Tripura attack presented them with enough scoring opportunities.
Washington was the more aggressive of the two and played elegant shots against the medium-pacers. Aparajith slowly found his touch as Tamil Nadu cruised towards the target.
However, the quick wickets of Washington and M. Ashwin came against the run of play and reduced the margin of defeat.