Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017-18, Day 1 - Round Up

Maharashtra, Andhra, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu secured big wins on the very first day of the VHT.

Published - 05 Feb 2018, 19:54 IST | Updated - 05 Feb 2018, 19:54 IST

5 Min Read

The focus in the domestic circuit shifts from T20 cricket – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to 50-overs cricket – Vijay Hazare Trophy. Eighteen teams battled it out across a slew of venues to kick off the 16th edition of India’s premier one-day competition. On the first day, there were some nail-biting encounters that went down to the wire and some were won comprehensively. Three of the four groups played on the first day.

The Group B match between Bengal and Maharastra was fought evenly and was a close contest. The all-important toss fell in Maharastra’s favour and they decided to bowl first. Bengal openers continued their Syed Mushtaq Ali form and were able to provide a steady start before wicketkeeper-batsman Shreevats Goswami was sent back to the pavilion by Mundhe. After his departure, Abhimanyu played a scintillating knock and was well supported by others. His 103 helped Bengal score 293 runs. In reply, skipper Rahul Tripathi scored a mesmerising hundred and helped his team cross the winning line with more than four overs in hand.

The first of three Group C encounters was played between Andhra and Rajasthan, and one will have to say that Andhra had too much firepower and managed to upstage the opposition by 6 wickets. Opting to bowl first, Andhra’s frontline bowler Bandaru Ayyappa had put the cat among the pigeons. Picking 3 for 57 runs helped Andhra restrict Rajasthan for mere 229 runs. In reply, the top four played to their strengths and rest was done by Sumanth who played a blinder, scoring 71 runs off 52 balls.

The encounter between Hyderabad and Services was a one-way affair which was dominated by the Hyderabadis for all 90 odd overs. Services opted to bowl first on a bright sunny morning but were not able to stop one of two openers, who has been in red-hot form Akshath Reddy as he scored 127 runs. Banking on the ton with few dazzling cameos, Hyderabad posted 329 runs on the board. In reply, Mohammad Siraj bowled well and was able to send first three batsmen in the hut for just 33 runs on the board. Skipper Rahul Singh tried to stabilise things but no one else really got going and faced a huge loss.

The next Group C encounter between MP and Mumbai was a close contest but at last, it was Mumbai who were able to take all-important four points. Batting first, Mumbai posted a mammoth total of 332 runs on the board, with the help of some superlative innings from Suryakumar Yadav and Jay Gokul Bista. In reply, MP batsmen got starts but no one was able to convert it into a big score and were all out for 258 runs in just 46 overs.

The game between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh was clinched by Delhi after skipper Pradeep Sangwan and Kulwant Khejroliya delivered the goods for their side. The duo picked seven wickets and gave away 60 odd runs. While batting, opener Unmukt Chand was the star as he scored another List A hundred to put his team right on top at the start of premier 50-overs tournament.

The third and the final Group C encounter was played between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu where Tamil Nadu managed to outclass the opposition in all three aspects in the most humiliating fashion. Another top-class knock by Kaushik Gandhi and skipper Vijay Shankar helped Tamil Nadu post 311 runs on the board. In reply, Gujarat had no answers whatsoever for TN’s bowling attack as each and every bowler was amongst wickets which eventually led TN to a great victory.

The well-fought game between Saurashtra and Chhattisgarh ended in Saurashtra’s favour but one will have to say, both teams were evenly matched on the given day. Batting first, Saurashtra made 286 runs with a superlative century from Sheldon Jackson. In reply, Chattisgarh’s batsmen tried their level best but fell short by 32 runs. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja picked 4 wickets for 41 runs.

The match between Himachal Pradesh and Tripura was played at one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country, HPCA and the hosts won the match comprehensively. Tripura posted 229 runs on the board, which was chased with perfection from HP’s batsmen, having 6 wickets and around 5 overs in hand. The number three batsman, Amit Kumar was the star of Himachal Pradesh, scoring 101 runs.

Vidarbha and Jharkhand played a cracking encounter on Day 1, where Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal won the toss and elected to bat first. Jitesh Sharma and Sanjay Ramaswamy scored 79 and 77 respectively which eventually helped them post 300 runs on the board. In reply, Jharkhand’s Ishan Kishan and Saurabh Tiwary were the only two batsmen who got runs and in lieu of that, they fell just 7 short of what could have been a dramatic chase.