Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20, Round 04: Round-up

Rain. Wet-outfield. Swashbuckling hundreds. Damp-squib. One-sided encounters. Nerve-janglers and of-course a jaw-dropping upset, it was another fascinating day the 2019-20 Vijay-Hazare Trophy.

Here’s our daily round-up:

Round 04, Elite Group A

In what was a refreshing change, none of the six scheduled Elite Group A, Round 04 matches were affected due to inclement weather or wet outfield. And, each game had its intriguing story. It was a day where individuals triumphed amidst the ruins and where the under-dog pipped the top-dog. It was a day of dap squibs too. Ultimately, the likes of Hyderabad, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Bengal, and Tamil Nadu picked up crucial points in Round 04, Elite Group A.

KL Rahul’s 131 helps Karnataka pip Kerala despite Vishnu Vinod century

The Karnataka vs Kerala match was a perfect example of how individuals triumphed over the ruins of their teammates and how one of them still ended up on the losing note. Both batsmen had one supporting character while the rest fell like a pack of cards. While KL Rahul’s superbly calculated 131 was backed up only by a half-century from skipper Manish Pandey, leading Karnataka to 294 in 49.5 overs. 

In reply, Vishnu Vinod [104] and Sanju Samson [67] scored 73.01% of Kerala’s runs, testifying how others failed to put up any sort of resistance. Sanju Samson’s run-out came at a time when he and Vinod had accumulated 107 runs for the second stand. Post Samson’s dismissal, only batsmen- Robin Uthappa [13] and Sachin Baby [26]- entered double figures as the rest fell like a pack of cards ensuring Vinod’s 104 went up to smoke.

Saurashtra was handed their first defeat of the tournament, and a comprehensive one rather, by Hyderabad by 131 runs. After two back-to-back washouts, we finally got the first look at Hyderabad in this season and they didn’t disappoint!

If Hyderabad’s all-round batting display- spearheaded by Tanmay Agarwal 79 and well-supported by Tilak Verma’s 65- laid the foundation of their win; one that helped them to post 5-252 after 50 overs, it was their bowling, led by Bavanaka Sandeep [5-26] that ensured it was as comprehensive as it turned out to be. Sheldon Jackson top-scored with 39 for Saurashtra as they were blown away for 131 in 39.1 overs.

Chhattisgarh shock perennial heavyweights Mumbai in a run-fest nerve jangler

It has to be the upset of the season! Who would have expected when the Mumbai batsmen were piling up the runs that Chhattisgarh would chase them down. They chased it. And how! Requiring 20 off 7 balls while chasing 318, the next three balls disappeared for 6,6,6. Chasing a humongous 318, Chhattisgarh needed someone to anchor the innings from one end. They didn’t get to the best of starts and at one stage were reduced to 3-95 courtesy Shams Mulani [3-38] and Dhawal Kulkarni [1-66]. 

Chhattisgarh needed something out of the extraordinary to make a fist out of the run-chase. That special came from the bat of Amandeep Khare [117* off 94 balls]. Khare stroked eight fours and four sixes in his knock of 117 and backed up by valuable contributions from Shashank Singh [40] and Ajay Mandal [39 not out] took his team beyond the realms of possibility.

That Mumbai got to 5-317 was thanks to that maniac knock by Suryakumar Yadav. After each of their top-order batsmen- Gokul Bista 24, Aditya Tare 90, Yashasvi Jaiswal 44, and Shreyas Iyer 50 had made solid contributions with the bat, Mumbai looked set to post a total in the range of 280-285. But Yadav’s maniac 31-ball 81, one that included eight 4s and six 6s, propelled them 5-317. But that too didn’t prove enough coursey Khare’s unbeaten 117.

Scores:

Karnataka vs Kerala

KAR: 294 all-out in 49.5 overs (KL Rahul 131, Manish Pandey 50; KM Asif 3-59)

KER: 234 all-out in 46.4 overs (Vishnu Vinod 104, Sanju Samson 67; Ronit More 3-42, Abhimanyu Mithun 2-32 )- Karnataka won by 60 runs

Hyderabad vs Saurashtra

HYD: 5-252 in 50.0 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 79, Tilak Verma 65; Jaydev Unadkat 2-46))

SAUR: 131 all out in 39.1 overs (Sheldon Jackson 39; Bevanaka Sandeep 5-26, Mohammad Siraj 2-20)- Hyderabad won by 121 runs

Mumbai vs Chattisgarh

MUM: 5-317 in 50.0 overs (Aditya Tare 90, Suryakumar Yadav 81 [31]; Shashank Singh 2-54, V Pratap Singh 2-66)

CG: 5-318 in 49.5 overs (Amandeep Khare 117*, Jiwanjot Singh 44, Ajay Mandal 39*; Shams Mulani 3-38) – Chattisgarh won by 5 wickets

Elite Group B & Plate

Unlike Group A and Group C, we had a little-to-no play in the six encounters that were scheduled from Group B and Plate on Saturday thanks to inclement weather.

While all the three Group B match-ups: Baroda vs Vidarbha, Delhi vs Himachal Pradesh & Punjab vs Odisha, were abandoned due to wet outfield in Vadodara without toss, we did see some action in the Plate Group, unfortunately without any result. 

While there was not a single ball bowled in the match between Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, we did see some action in the matches between Manipur & Sikkim and Puducherry & Uttarakhand. We were denied what could have potentially turned into a humdinger by rain against Sikkim after they bowled out for a lowly 120 in 30.4 overs with Yashpal Singh [4-22] and Iqbal Abdullah [3-4] sharing the spoils between them. Needing 121, only six balls were possible in Sikkim’s run-chase during which they lost two wickets before persistent rain forced the game to abandonment.

Uttarakhand should also thank the rain gods. After having been bowled out for 172 despite Dhanraj Sharma’s 76, courtesy a six-wicket haul from Sagar Trivedi ‘[6-50], the heavens opened up again robbing Puducherry of what should have been an easy win. 

Scores:

Elite Group B:

Baroda vs Vidarbha- Match abandoned without toss due to wet outfield.

Delhi vs Himachal Pradesh- Match abandoned without toss due to wet outfield.

Punjab vs Odisha- Match abandoned without toss due to wet outfield.

Plate:

Manipur vs Sikkim

MNP: 120 all-out in 30.4 overs (Prafullomani Singh 27; Yashpal Singh 4-22, Iqbal Abdullah 3-4)

SKM: 2-0 in 1.0 overs:  No result

Puducherry vs Uttarakhand

UTK: 172 all-out in 46.4 overs (Dhanraj Sharma 76; Sagar Trivedi 6-50, Sagar Udeshi 2-33)- No result

Meghalaya vs Arunachal Pradesh- Match abandoned without toss due to wet outfield.

Elite Group C

Another game where an individual’s hundred was rendered reductant by his teammates was Bihar vs Tamil Nadu. Skipper Babul Kumar [110 off 136 balls] scored 50.6% of his team’s eventual total of 7-217 as the rest of his teammates fell around him. To have any shot at defending the total, Bihar needed wickets in a heap.

They did get them in a heap as Sachin Kumar [2-36] and Samar Quadri [1-43] reduced TN to 3-75 after the openers had put on 59 runs for the 1st wicket. But, an unbeaten 143-run-stand, spearheaded by Vijay Shankar’s 88-ball 91 and ably backed up by Baba Aparajith’s half-century ensured Tamil Nadu cruised home in a canter.

If it was Babul Kumar for Bihar who led the way with the bat, Gujarat had Parthiv Patel spearheading their unit, but in a winning cause, the wicket-keeper batsman smashed a clinical 96-ball 90 and along with Merai [69] steered his side to an eventual match-winning total of 9-281. In reply, half-centuries from Rajat Patidar [71] and Anand Bais [57] spearheaded MP’s batting effort but a fatal collapse in the end courtesy Roosh Kalaria [2-60] and Arzan Nagwaswalla [3-50] condemned them to their second defeat [by 35 runs]  in the tournament.

Unlike Gujarat, Services weren’t able to back up their 19-run win in the last game against Tripura as Bengal bounced back strongly after a disappointing performance against Gujarat to notch up their maiden win of the tournament. Having required 277 runs to win, Bengal’s batting effort was led by a nonchalant 106 by opener Abhishek Raman and steady contributions by each of their top-order batsmen.

The base was set by the openers- Shreevats Goswami [36] and Raman [106]- and was abley backed up by Manoj Tiwary [24], skipper Sudip Chatterjee [25], Wriddhiman Saha [43] and Shabaz Ahmed who scored an unbeaten 32-ball 27 to steer his side past the finishing line in the 50th over.

Following today’s results, Tamil Nadu has consolidated its top-spot with 12 points followed by Tripura [8] and Gujarat [8].

Scores:

Tamil Nadu vs Bihar

BIH: 7-217 in 50 overs (Babul Kumar 110; M Mohammed 3-33)

TN: 3-218 in 46.5 overs (Vijay Shankar 91*, Baba Aparajith 52*; Sachin Kumar 2-36)- Tamil Nadu won by 7 wickets

Gujarat vs Madhya Pradesh

GUJ: 9-281 in 50.0 overs (Parthiv Patel 90, B Merai 69; Ishwar Pandey 4-46, Gaurav Yadav 3-46)

MP: 246 all out in 50.0 overs (Rajat Patidar 71, Anand Bais 57; Arzan Nagwaswalla 3-50, Roosh Kalaria 2-60)- Gujarat won by 35 runs

Services vs Bengal

SER: 7-276 in 50.0 overs (Nakul Verma 52, Ravi Chauhan 49; Arnab Nandi 2-33, Manoj Tiwari 2-52)

BEN: 6-277 in 49.4 overs (Abhishek Raman 106, Wriddhiman Saha 43, Shahbaz Ahmed 28*; Pulkit Narang 2-52) – Bengal won by 4 wickets