VIJAY HAZARE TROPHY, 2018-19

Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill star in wins for Mumbai, Punjab

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Shubman scored 115 in Punjab's 35-run win. © Getty

Elite Group A

Mumbai flexed their batting muscle and cantered to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Baroda at Alur. Prithvi Shaw blazed to a 66-ball 98 while Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer added fifties to make light work of a 238-run target. The run chase was achieved with 51 balls to spare.

The victory was setup by an impressive bowling performance by Dhawal Kulkarni who picked up 4 for 39 denying Baroda the momentum they so desired as Krunal Pandya worked himself to a steady 85 from one end. Yusuf Pathan (40) and Pinal Shah (32) got starts in the lower middle-order but couldn't cash in, hurting Baroda's prospects of a big total. Baroda's best chance thereafter was to try and pick early wickets but with Shaw blazing away at the top, their chances quickly dissipated. The young Mumbai opener scored 12 fours and five sixes while Rahane dropped anchor in the 137-run stand. Once Shaw fell two short of his ton, Shreyas Iyer walked out and helped himself to a half-century himself to guide Mumbai home.

Brief scores: Baroda238 in 49.5 overs (Krunal Pandya 85, Yusuf Pathan 40; Dhawal Kulkarni 4-39) lost to Mumbai 239/1 in 41.3 overs (Prithvi Shaw 98, Ajinkya Rahane 79*; Krunal Pandya 1-34) by nine wickets.

Opener Jay Pande scored an unbeaten 117 and put on a century stand for the first wicket with Ruturaj Gaikwad (67) as Maharashtra chased down Goa's 266 with five wickets and 14 balls to spare. Maharashtra's opening duo added 127 which gave them an insurance against a middle-order wobble as Ankit Bawne and Rahul Tripathi fell in quick succession. Pande, however, dropped anchor and received support in the form of an important 28-ball 34 from Atharva Kale which put the team beyond any need of the ringing alarm bells.

Earlier in the day, Goa, who were put in to bat, were guilty of no batsmen converting their starts into a big total. Captain Amogh Desai scored 65 and five other batsman scoring between 26 and 38. Samad Fallah was the pick of the bowlers for Maharashtra, picking 2 for 42.

Brief scores: Goa 266/7 in 50 overs (Amogh Desai 65; Samad Fallah 2-42) lost to Maharashtra 267/5 in 47.4 overs (Jay Pande 117*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 67; Amogh Desai 2-39) by five wickets.

Shubman Gill scored 115 and Siddarth Kaul claimed a four-wicket haul as Punjab began their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with a convincing 35-run win over Himachal Pradesh. Gill's 131-ball innings comprised six fours and four sixes, powering Punjab to a total of 290 from 50 overs. They received other significant contributions to their total from captain Mandeep Singh (39), Yuvraj Singh (48), both of whom shared vital stands with the young centurion.

Himachal were well on their way in the chase after the first two wickets put on 156 in 30 overs with Prashant Chopra anchoring the chase. But Ankush Bains's dismissal to Gurkeerat Singh triggered an unlikely collapse as Kaul and Arshdeep Singh skittled through the rest of the line-up. Himachal lost their final nine wickets for 99 runs to let slip a winning position.

Brief scores: Punjab 290/7 in 50 overs (Shubman Gill 115; Rishi Dhawan 3-50) beat Himachal Pradesh 255 in 48.3 overs (Prashant Chopra 95, Ankush Bains 56; Siddarth Kaul 4-55) by 35 runs.

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Elite Group B

An all-round effort from skipper Sachin Baby went in vain as Kerala spectacularly collapsed to lose their opening game by seven runs to Andhra in Delhi. Chasing 191, Kerala were well placed at 170/3 but the moment Karn Sharma breached Baby's stumps for a well-compiled 57, Kerala just fell apart to get bowled out for 183.

Andhra themselves crumbled during their innings. The moment Sudhesan Midhun broke the 96-run fifth wicket stand, Andhra lost their final six wickets for just 11 more runs with Baby also contributing to the downfall with two wickets. Amidst all the ruins, Bodapati Sumanth stood tall with a 104-ball 79.

Brief scores: Andhra 190 in 49 overs (Bodapati Sumanth 79, Dwaraka Ravi Teja 44; Sudhesan Midhun 3-56, Sandeep Warrier 2-17) beat Kerala 183 in 49.1 overs (Sachin Baby 57, Jalaj Saxena 46; Karn Sharma 3-37, Ricky Bhui 2-8) by 7 runs

Measured half-centuries from Tanmay Agarwal and Rohit Rayudu helped Hyderabad begin their campaign in style as they picked up a seven-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh. Chasing 232, the victory appeared to be a formality the moment Agarwal and Rayudu looked in control adding 133 for the second wicket. Even though Rameez Khan dismissed both the set batsmen, Hyderabad still managed to cross the finish line with 14 balls left.

Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh were never in control after opting to bat. Aryaman Birla and Rameez Khan were dismissed early for a single-digit score before Rajat Patidar briefly resurrected the innings. But MP never took off with Hyderabad striking at regular intervals. If not for a 67-run seventh-wicket stand, MP wouldn't have touched 200.

Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 231 in 48.2 overs (Rajat Patidar 49; Mohammed Siraj 3-42, Akash Bhandari 2-35) lost to Hyderabad 235/3 in 47.4 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 83, Rohit Rayudu 78; Rameez Khan 2-34) by 7 wickets

Openers Robin Uthappa and Sheldon Jackson starred in Saurashtra's 25-run win over Uttar Pradesh at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Uthappa and Jackson took on the UP bowling attack hitting six sixes between them, stitching a 194-run opening partnership before Uthappa fell three runs short of his century. Jackson went onto complete his ton before a Shivam Mavi five-wicket haul ensured Saurashtra didn't get the finish they were hoping for.

A target of 304 was always going to be challenging and even though every batsman got a start, none of them went onto make a big one to challenge Saurashtra. Akshdeep Nath briefly threatened with a quick fifty but his dismissal in the 41st over ended any slim hopes UP had.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 303/9 in 50 overs (Sheldon Jackson 107, Robin Uthappa 97; Shivam Mavi 5-73) beat Uttar Pradesh 278 in 49.1 overs (Akshdeep Nath 62, Priyam Garg 38; Jaydev Unadkat 3-42) by 25 runs.

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