Hyderabad: Punjab thumped Hyderabad by 56 runs to register their first win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group ‘A’ one-day match played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in the city on Friday.
Chasing 239 for a win, the hosts ran out of steam as they were bowled out for 182 in just 42.4 overs. Siddharth Kaul ripped through the batting order as he snared 5/32 from his 8.4 overs. Barinder Singh Sran played second fiddle as he took 3/36. For Hyderabad, Sumanth Kolla emerged the top-scorer with 63 runs.
In another match, Tamil Nadu maintained momentum as they defeated Mumbai by 26 runs to register their second win in as many days at the Gymkhana grounds. Despite Akhil Herwadkar’s 86-ball 107-run — comprising 16 fours and one six — Mumbai were not able to surpass the 313-run target.
In another match, Rajasthan (149/9 in 49.3 overs) edged past Assam (148 in 44.4 overs) by one wicket in a thriller at the Railways ground. Rajat Bhatia was the lone star of the match as he picked 5/17 from his stipulated 10 overs.
Meanwhile, Mahendra Singh Dhoni got some decent batting practice at the Alur (3) grounds but it wasn’t enough for Jharkhand as Gujarat, chasing 177, eased to 179 for four, for a six-wicket victory with 10.1 overs to spare in the Group ‘A’ encounter on Friday.
The few hundred fans who came to the venue got a first-hand and close view of the Indian ODI skipper’s prowess but they didn’t get to see the fireworks that he is capable of. Having fallen cheaply against J&K in a match that they however, won, Dhoni this time was the only saving grace for Varun Aaron’s team after they were put into bat by Parthiv Patel.
Save for opener Ishank Jaggi’s 58-ball 34 there was no support forthcoming for Dhoni, who again came in at No.5 and shepherded the inexperienced middle order with a 64-ball 44 with four boundaries.
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