Vidarbha Eliminate Delhi, Punjab Beat Madhya Pradesh By 183 Runs In Vijay Hazare Trophy Quarter-Finals

Last season's runners-up Vidarbha produced a disciplined all-round performance to beat Delhi by 76 runs and enter their second successive semi-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Tuesday. Vidarbha will face Karnataka in a repeat of last season's final on Thursday, while Saurashtra will take on Punjab in the second semi-final on Friday. Put in at the Centre of Excellence 2, Vidarbha recovered well from an early wobble to post a competitive 300 for nine, with Yash Rathod returning to form with a top score of 86 and opener Atharva Taide contributing 62, his second successive half-century.

In reply, Delhi who were playing without Ayush Badoni, who is on national duty, and the injured Rishabh Pant, were bowled out for 224 in 45.1 overs.

Seamer Nachiket Bhute led the attack with 4/51 from 7.1 overs, first breaking the top order and then returning to remove Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini in successive overs to end the chase.

Left-arm spinner and skipper Harsh Dubey was also impressive with 3/36 from nine overs, while new-ball bowler Praful Hinge chipped in with 2/54.

Wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat fought a lone battle for Delhi with a patient 66 off 98 balls, but it was not enough as their campaign ended in the quarter-finals.

Coming in at No. 6, Rawat tried to hold the innings together after the top and middle order crumbled, adding useful runs with Mayank Gusain (18), Harsh Tyagi (27) and Hrithik Shokeen (21).

However, wickets kept falling at regular intervals and the asking rate continued to climb.

With Delhi needing 98 off 64 balls with four wickets left, Rawat was forced to go on the attack but mistimed an attempted inside-out shot off Hinge to be dismissed. His innings included seven fours.

Shokeen fell in the same over, leaving Delhi at 215/8 and virtually ending the contest.

Earlier, Delhi had made a splendid start in the chase through Priyansh Arya, but Bhute quickly turned the game in Vidarbha's favour.

Arya struck four boundaries and a six in a quick 28 off 17 balls before edging a pull shot to wicketkeeper Rohit Binkar.

Off the very next delivery, Nitish Rana was out for a golden duck, his upper cut finding the fielder at third man as Bhute struck twice in the eighth over to reduce Delhi to 58/2 in 7.5 overs.

Dubey then ran through the middle order, dismissing Vaibhav Kandpal (28) and Tejasvi Dahiya (15), before returning to remove Mayank Gusain for 18 to leave Delhi at 123/5 inside 27 overs.

Harsh Tyagi provided some momentum with two fours and a six in his 27 off 29 balls, adding 46 with Rawat, before he was dismissed by Yash Kadam.

Earlier, Vidarbha recovered well after losing opener Aman Mokhade (6) early, as Taide (62 off 72 balls, 8x4) and Dhruv Shorey (49 off 71 balls, 7x4) added 90 for the second wicket.

Taide was bowled by Delhi skipper Ishant Sharma in the 25th over, a dismissal that also brought up the veteran pacer's 200th List A wicket.

After the fall of Taide and Samarth, Rathod anchored the innings with a fluent run-a-ball fifty, keeping Vidarbha on course for a big total.

He struck eight fours and two sixes, while Rohit Binkar (15 off nine balls, 2x6) and Dubey (10 off seven balls) provided late impetus to take the total to 300.

For Delhi, Ishant, Saini and Prince Yadav picked up two wickets each.

Punjab outclass Madhya Pradesh

Punjab's batters fired in unison to set up a strong base for the bowlers to complete a crushing 183-run win over Madhya Pradesh and storm into the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Tuesday. Asked to bat first, Punjab were well served by skipper Prabhsimran Singh's 86-ball 88, Anmolpreet Singh's 62-ball 70, Nehal Wadhera's 56 off 38 deliveries, and Harnoor Singh's 51 off 71 balls as the side posted an imposing 345 for six in the quarterfinal.

Earlier, Ramandeep Singh blazed away to a 24 off 15 balls toward the end as Punjab closed in on the 350-mark.

In reply, MP were bowled out for 162 in 31.2 overs.

Tripuresh Singh (2/61 in 10 overs) and captain Venkatesh Iyer (2/60 in 7 overs) were the most successful bowlers for Madhya Pradesh.

Iyer's decision to bowl first did not yield the desired result for MP as Punjab enjoyed an excellent start with the opening duo of Prabhsimran and Harnoor adding 166 runs in just over 21 overs.

The surface looked good for batting and both Prabhsimran and Harnoor made use of the favourable conditions to put the Madhya Pradesh bowlers under pressure, while laying the foundation for a big total for their team.

Aryan Pandey got the game's first breakthrough when he dismissed Harnoor in the 22nd over, only for Anmolpreet to come in and continue the momentum for Punjab with his brisk run-scoring.

Mixing caution with aggression, Prabhsimran seemed to be marching towards a hundred in the company of the fluent Anmolpreet.

However, Kuldeep Sen cut short Prabhsimran's stay in the middle when he had him caught by Saransh Jain in the 30th over.

Naman Dhir got himself a few boundaries before falling for a 20-ball 23.

Punjab were 199 for three at that stage of the innings that had just entered the 36th over, and in walked in Nehal Wadhera.

Wadhera's stay in the middle changed the complexion of the Punjab innings completely as he added 76 quick runs with Anmolpreet for the fourth wicket, relying on quick running between the wickets and frequent boundaries to keep MP on the back foot.

Unlike Punjab, MP were off to a disastrous start as they slipped to 66 for five in the 17th over, and when Rajat Patidar fell for a 40-ball 38 in the 27th over with the total reading 132 for seven, the match was as good as over.

Besides Patidar, only Tripuresh Singh (31) crossed 30 for MP in a forgettable outing with the bat. After having a great tournament with both bat and India ball, all-rounder Iyer could not deliver in this knockout game.

Sanvir Singh (3/31 in 6 overs) was the most successful bower for Punjab and there were two wickets apiece for Gurnoor Brar, Krish Bhagat and Ramandeep Singh.

Brief Scores:

Vidarbha 300/9; 50 overs (Yash Rathod 86, Atharva Taide 62, Dhruv Shorey 49; Ishant Sharma 2/47, Prince Yadav 2/59, Navdeep Saini 2/68, Nitish Rana 2/19) beat Delhi 224; 45.1 overs (Anuj Rawat 66; Nachiket Bhute 4/51, Harsh Dubey 3/36, Praful Hinge 2/54) by 74 runs.

Punjab: 345/6 in 50 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 88, Anmolpreet Singh 70, Nehal Wadhera 56, Harnoor Singh 51) Madhya Pradesh: 162 all out in 31.2 overs (Rajat Patidar 38; Sanvir Singh 3/31). 

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