File photo – Unmukt Chand struck 64 of 85 balls to steer Delhi to victory © BCCI
Akshdeep Nath‘s 109, his second List A hundred in three matches, carried Uttar Pradesh to a six-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh in Bhubaneswar. Nath struck 17 fours and two sixes during his 90-ball 109 as Uttar Pradesh chased down 256 in 40.4 overs. Nath’s 119-run partnership with opener Shivam Chaudhary, who hit 75 off 74 balls, formed the crux of the chase. Nath went onto bring up his century, then fell with his team 31 away from the target. Rinku Singh and Sarfaraz Khan, however, sealed a handsome victory.
Having opted to bat, Himachal Pradesh fell to 68 for 4 in 19 overs. Debutant Ekant Sen and Ankit Kaushik then rallied their team with a 78-run stand. Both batsmen went onto score fifties and Mayank Dagar contributed with a 33-ball 46 to lift Himachal Pradesh to 255. Seamer Mohd Israr returned 4 for 33 while his senior partner Praveen Kumar claimed 2 for 40.
Maharashtra limited Tripura to 188 and completed the chase with four wickets and nearly 100 balls to spare in Cuttack. This meant Maharashtra consolidated their position at the top of the Group B table with their fifth win in six matches. It was set up by new-ball bowlers Nikit Dhumal and Shrikant Mundhe who took a combined 7 for 58. They carved up the top and middle order, reducing Tripura to 30 for 5 in 12.2 overs. Gurinder Singh, coming in at No.7, lent some respectability to the score with 91 off 121 balls, including six fours and five sixes. His contribution accounted for nearly half of Tripura’s total of 188.
Maharashtra lost Ankit Bawne and Naushad Shaikh early to Ajoy Sarkar but Ruturaj Gaikwad and captain Kedar Jadhav propped up their team with forty-somethings each. Wicketkeeper Nikhil Naik also made a forty – 46 not out off 34 balls – as Maharashtra got home in the 35th over.
Batsman Unmukt Chand and left-arm seamer Pawan Suyal – belated additions to the Delhi squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy – helped the team to a consolation win over Kerala in Tangi. After Suyal took took wickets, Chand steered Delhi’s chase of 232 with 64 off 85 balls, including five fours and a six. Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir had laid the platform for Chand with a 60-run opening stand. Milind Kumar complemented Chand with 40 off 37 balls and hastened Delhi’s win.
Earlier, Kerala put up 231, thanks largely to Salman Nizar’s 59 and Sanju Samson’s 41 after twenty-somethings from the top three. Navdeep Saini too picked up two wickets while Milind chipped in with one.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo