Vijay Hazare Trophy, Day 5- Round Up

The Vijay Hazare Trophy on the fifth day was all about hundreds and bigger ones. A superlative hundred from UP vice-captain Akshadeep Nath to the 24 runs stand for the last wicket for Andra to pull off a thriller contest against Goa it was a day full of action. A total of nine games were played today and the matches just got intense and were fiercely fought.

The match between Himachal Pradesh and Kerela ended as an absolute thriller as both the teams were able to put their best foot forward. Himachal skipper Prashant Chopra won the toss and asked the opposition to bat first. With a quickfire fifty at the top and five short of what could have been a memorable hundred from the skipper, Sachin Baby Kerela posted 271 runs on the board. For HP, Chopra and Ankush Bains gave them a decent start but the middle-order couldn’t capitalize as the match went all down to the last over.

The encounter between Mumbai and Rajasthan was expected to be a nail-biting one but eventually ended in a one-way affair after a dazzling knock of 149 runs from Rajasthan’s Amitkumar Gautam. Banking on the ton by Sidhhesh Lad and a scintillating half-century from the U19 champion Prithvi Shaw helped Mumbai post 268 runs on the board. After which it was just Amitkumar Gautam’s show as Rajasthan team registered a six-wicket win.

The Group D game between J&K and Chattisgarh had many twists and turns and as a spectator, it was difficult to pick out a winner till the last over of the second innings. Batting first, Chattisgarh posted 251 runs for the loss of 8 wickets with a few cameos in the middle. In reply, J&K’s opener Ahmed Bandy fought hard for his 75 but was short of a partner which eventually cost them the match by 5 runs.

The Vidarbha team continued their good run and with a win against Services today, they are almost certain to go throw the knockout stages. Scoring 267 runs with a beautiful looking knock from Apoorv Wankhade helped them put Services on the back foot. The number 9 batsman Diwesh Pathania impressed everyone with his batting skills and went on to score a blistering 100. However, his efforts went in vain after his team fell 17 runs short.

Saurashtra team is probably the best on papers with the likes of Robin Uthappa, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jaydev Unadkat but is unable to deliver on the given day. Being asked to bat first by the Hyderabad skipper, they posted 277 runs on the board. In reply, Akshath Reddy played a blinder followed by a confident innings from the skipper Ambati Rayudu helped Hyderabad over the line.

The times changed for Uttar Pradesh as Suresh Raina joined the squad to play a few matches before flying off for all-important series against South Africa. In his absence, Akshdeep Nath was made the skipper who played a brilliant knock which eventually helped his side post a mammoth total of 329 runs. Bengal batters played out their nerves but fell short by 7 runs. The number three batsman Vivek Singh’s innings of 147 runs couldn’t help the side.

The game between Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh started in TN’s favour but ended up being a one-sided contest. The wicketkeeper-batsman from TN, N Jagadeesan missed out on a well deserved century as he got out for one short of 100. His innings helped TN reach a score of 302 runs. However, after the stint of first fifty overs, it was just Rajat Patidar who played magnificent innings of 158 runs which led the side to an eight-wicket win.

The Group B encounter between Delhi and Maharashtra was a Dhruv Shorey show, who continued his superlative form and scored a century. On the other hand, Nitish Rana once again made the news after staying not-out for a score of 49 runs. Earlier in the match, Maharashtra’s batsmen found it difficult to settle as they were bowled out for 246.

The day’s most interesting game happened between Andra and Goa which went all down to the wire and at the end, it was Andra’s who held their nerves and pulled off a sensational win. For Goa, the experienced campaigner Swapnil Asnodkar once again failed after a dazzling knock in the opener. His constant failures with no other standing up allowed Goa to post a mere total of 188 runs. In reply, Andra batsmen found it difficult to keep the best foot forward and had almost lost the match before the all-important partnership of 24 runs for the last wicket, which helped them win the contest.

Brief Scores

Rajasthan v Mumbai

Mumbai: 268/8 in 50 overs (Sidhesh Lad 100; Khaleel Ahmed 4/35)

Rajasthan: 272/4 in 47.3 overs (Amitkumar Gautam 149; Shivam Dubey 2/36)

Madhya Pradesh v Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu: 302/9 in 50 overs (N Jagadeesan 99; Ankit 3/59)

Madhya Pradesh: 303/2 in 46 overs (Rajat Patidar 158; Rahil Shah 1/47)

Andra v Goa

Goa: 188/10 in 47.4 overs (Snehal 43; Girinath Reddy 4/32)

Andra: 191/9 in 49.3 overs (Bhui 56; Vijesh 3/43)

Chhattisgarh v J&K

Chhattisgarh: 251/8 in 50 overs (Vishal Kushwah 48; R Dayal 3/35)

J&K: 246/10 in 49.3 overs (A Bandy 75; Pankaj Kumar 3/44)

Services v Vidarbha

Vidarbha: 267/9 in 50 overs (Akshay 45; Raushan 3/49)

Services: 250/9 in 50 overs (Diwesh 100; Rajneesh Gurbani 2/47)

Hyderabad v Saurashtra

Saurashtra: 277/7 in 50 overs (Prerak 62; M Siraj 3/46)

Hyderabad: 278/6 in 49.3 overs (Akshat Reddy 94; Shaurya S 2/41)

Kerela v HP

Kerela: 271/7 in 50 overs (Sachin Baby 95; P Jaiswal 3/51)

HP: 273/9 in 50 overs (Ankit Kaushik 83; KC Akshay 4/32)

Bengal v UP

UP: 329/4 in 50 overs (Akshdeep Nath 103; A Gani 2/59)

Bengal: 322/10 in 49.4 overs (Vivek Singh 147; Ankit Rajpoot 3/51)

Delhi v Maharashtra

Maharashtra: 246/10 in 50 overs (S Kazi 59; Pradeep Sangwan 5/41)

Delhi: 250/2 in 44.2 overs (Dhruv Shorey 103; Anupam 1/44)