Shreyas Iyer hits sparkling 82 on comeback
India's top players had mixed results in the Vijay Hazare Trophy ahead of the T20 World Cup, with Delhi and Uttar Pradesh reaching the knockouts.
Alur/Jaipur: With just a few days to go for the white-ball series against New Zealand before the T20 World Cup begins in February, top India players endured mixed results in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Tuesday.
Shreyas Iyer made 82 off 53 balls for Mumbai, Axar Patel scored 73 off 60 balls, Shubman Gill was dismissed for 11 off 12, India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav scored 24 off 18 balls, Yashasvi Jaiswal 15 and Rishabh Pant 24 off nine deliveries as Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka reached the knockouts of the one-day tournament. Among the bowlers, Prasidh Krishna took 5/36 against Rajasthan and Mohammed Siraj rocked Bengal with 4/58 after Hyderabad opener Aman Rao hammered 13 sixes in a 154-ball 200.
In Alur, Delhi registered a thumping six-wicket win over Railways, their fifth win in six matches, to seal qualification for the knockouts after five years. After Railways elected to bat, Navdeep Saini and Ayush Badoni took three wickets apiece to bowl them out for 179 in 40.4 overs, with Delhi’s pacers setting the tone.
Ishant Sharma (1/5 in four overs) was outstanding with the new ball and Harshit Rana (1/42) provided support as Railways slipped to 19/2 in six overs. Saini (3/30 in 5.4 overs) and off-spinner Badoni (3/30 in 10 overs) ripped through the middle and lower order, reducing Railways to 99 for 6 in 23.2 overs.
Chasing a modest 180, Delhi raced to 182/4 in 21.4 overs. Opener Priyansh Arya was the star of the chase, smashing 80 off 41 balls (12x4, 3x6) to earn the Player-of-the-Match award. Arya subdued the Railways attack as she shared a 109-run opening stand with Sarthak Ranjan (33), effectively settling the contest inside the first 13 overs. Pant, who struck a rapid 67 against Services in the previous match, scored 24 off just nine balls (3x6, 1x4). Nitish Rana was unbeaten on 38 off 28 balls, ensuring there were no late hiccups as Delhi cruised home to remain firmly on top of Group D table with 20 points.
Gill stumbled but Punjab rode a 90-ball 94 by Harnoor Singh to defeat Goa by six wickets. Mumbai beat HP by seven runs, narrowly defending 299 in a 33-overs-a-side game. With 20 points each, Punjab and Mumbai are favoured to qualify for the quarters from Group D.
In Rajkot, Abhishek Goswami hit a fine century as Uttar Pradesh reached the last eight with a 54-run win over Vidarbha. Sent in to bat, UP posted 339/5 with Goswami hitting 103. The opener was ably supported by fifties from Priyam Garg (67), Dhruv Jurel (56) and skipper Rinku Singh (57).
In reply, Aman Mokhade struck a fighting 147 but Vidarbha managed only 285/9 in 50 overs with Kuldeep Yadav (3/52) taking three wickets. UP’s sixth straight win consolidated their top spot in Group B (24 pts), followed by Vidarbha, Bengal and Baroda all tied at 16 points with one match to go.
Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal (100 off 107 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (91 off 82 balls) shared a 184-run opening partnership against Rajasthan, helping the team score 324/7. Krishna’s fifer triggered a middle-order implosion as Rajasthan crumbled for 174 in 38 overs.
Karnataka too have an all-win record, with 24 points from six matches.
Against Odisha, Axar Patel top-scored with 73 and then conceded just 14 runs in five overs in a crushing 233-run win. Batting first, Gujarat built a formidable total with openers Aarya Desai (54) and Urvil Patel (64) providing a solid platform, while Ahaan Poddar made a composed 64 off 76 balls. Axar took charge in the latter half of the innings, striking eight fours and two sixes as Gujarat accelerated past the 300-run mark. He added valuable runs with Saurav Chauhan, who finished unbeaten on a brisk 44 off 26 balls, as Gujarat finished their innings on a high.
Aman 200 dents Bengal
US-born Aman Rao smashed 12 fours and 13 sixes in his unbeaten 200 to help Hyderabad thrash Bengal by 107 runs. The 21-year-old, signed by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction, scored his first one-day hundred in only his third List A appearance. Siraj then produced a sensational opening spell, returning figures of 10–0–58–4 and derailing the chase of Bengal, who folded for 245 in 44.4 overs.
