Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017-18, Day 11- Round Up

Maharashtra opener Ruturaj Gaikwad played the innings of his life, scoring 115 runs off 105 balls and ensured them a win.

Published - 15 Feb 2018, 19:02 IST | Updated - 15 Feb 2018, 19:02 IST

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The eleventh day of the premier 50-over tournament Vijay Hazare Trophy has made it clear for at least three teams from the four groups their qualification for the all-important knockout stages. The day witnessed three matches from Group B where six teams battled to reach higher echelon. Himachal Pradesh upstaging Delhi in a close encounter to a one-way affair between Uttar Pradesh and Kerela, it was an absolutely phenomenal day for the fans.

The game between Tripura and Maharashtra was reduced to 42 overs per side due to wet outfield. Recognizing the dampness in the wicket, Tripura skipper Manisankar Murasingh opted to bat first. The Tripura team lost their opener Saurabh Das for a mere score of 3, it brought Smit Patel and Joydeep Banik to the crease and their partnership eventually helped the middle-order play their shots.

However, both the batsmen got out after getting a decent start and in lieu of that, wickets kept tumbling in the middle-order too. Tripura posted 222 runs, banking on a quickfire fifty from the skipper. In reply, Maharashtra opener Ruturaj Gaikwad played the innings of his life, scoring 115 runs off 105 balls. His superlative innings helped Maharashtra stay in the mix for the later stages.

The game between Himachal Pradesh and Delhi involved too much firepower as the game went all down to the wire, but in the end, it was Himachal who held their nerves and pulled out an absolute thriller contest. Batting first, HP posted a mammoth total of 304 runs with skipper Prashant Chopra scoring half of the runs. His innings and fifty from Amit Kumar helped HP dominate the game.

The Delhi team had put their best foot forward and tried their best to clinch the game, but unfortunately, they fell short by 2 runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman Rishab Pant once again impressed populous with some delightful shots all-around the ground, scoring 135 runs off just 91 deliveries.

The third and the final encounter between Uttar Pradesh and Kerela ended as a one-way affair in favour of Kerela. In the all-important encounter, Kerela batted first and posted a respectable total of 261 runs. Rohan Prem remained not out for 66. In reply, wickets kept tumbling for UP at regular intervals as the batters found it difficult to put the best foot forward. Kerela won the game by a margin of 120 runs, which eventually helped them occupy the second position in Group B.