Salem entered the knockout phase of the TNCA inter-district T20 cricket tournament for the S.S. Rajan Trophy by virtue of finishing second in its group (Zone F).
Coimbatore (16 points) had finished on top of the table with an all-win record. However, the second side could not be identified as three teams — host Theni, Nagapattinam and Salem — registered two victories each.
Salem, with a better net run-rate, booked a berth in the next round.
The top two from Group-A had to be identified on net run-rate and the VJD system after five sides — host Tirupur, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur, Perambalur and Vellore — finished with two wins each.
Tiruvannamalai and Tiruvarur took the top two spots for a place in the next phase, jolting the chances of last year’s runner-up Tirupur.
