Vijay Hazare Trophy: Rathod, Bhute Power Vidarbha into Semis With 76-Run Win Over Delhi

Bengaluru: Last season's runners-up Vidarbha produced a disciplined all-round performance to beat Delhi by 76 runs and enter their second successive semi-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Tuesday. Vidarbha will face Karnataka in a repeat of last season's final on Thursday, while Saurashtra will take on Punjab in the second semi-final on Friday.

Put in at the Centre of Excellence 2, Vidarbha recovered well from an early wobble to post a competitive 300 for nine, with Yash Rathod returning to form with a top score of 86 and opener Atharva Taide contributing 62, his second successive half-century.

In reply, Delhi who were playing without Ayush Badoni, who is on national duty, and the injured Rishabh Pant, were bowled out for 224 in 45.1 overs.

Seamer Nachiket Bhute led the attack with 4/51 from 7.1 overs, first breaking the top order and then returning to remove Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini in successive overs to end the chase.

Left-arm spinner and skipper Harsh Dubey was also impressive with 3/36 from nine overs, while new-ball bowler Praful Hinge chipped in with 2/54.

Wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat fought a lone battle for Delhi with a patient 66 off 98 balls, but it was not enough as their campaign ended in the quarter-finals.

Coming in at No. 6, Rawat tried to hold the innings together after the top and middle order crumbled, adding useful runs with Mayank Gusain (18), Harsh Tyagi (27) and Hrithik Shokeen (21).

However, wickets kept falling at regular intervals and the asking rate continued to climb.

With Delhi needing 98 off 64 balls with four wickets left, Rawat was forced to go on the attack but mistimed an attempted inside-out shot off Hinge to be dismissed. His innings included seven fours.

Shokeen fell in the same over, leaving Delhi at 215/8 and virtually ending the contest.

Earlier, Delhi had made a splendid start in the chase through Priyansh Arya, but Bhute quickly turned the game in Vidarbha's favour.

Arya struck four boundaries and a six in a quick 28 off 17 balls before edging a pull shot to wicketkeeper Rohit Binkar.

Off the very next delivery, Nitish Rana was out for a golden duck, his upper cut finding the fielder at third man as Bhute struck twice in the eighth over to reduce Delhi to 58/2 in 7.5 overs.

Dubey then ran through the middle order, dismissing Vaibhav Kandpal (28) and Tejasvi Dahiya (15), before returning to remove Mayank Gusain for 18 to leave Delhi at 123/5 inside 27 overs.

Harsh Tyagi provided some momentum with two fours and a six in his 27 off 29 balls, adding 46 with Rawat, before he was dismissed by Yash Kadam.

Earlier, Vidarbha recovered well after losing opener Aman Mokhade (6) early, as Taide (62 off 72 balls, 8x4) and Dhruv Shorey (49 off 71 balls, 7x4) added 90 for the second wicket.

Taide was bowled by Delhi skipper Ishant Sharma in the 25th over, a dismissal that also brought up the veteran pacer's 200th List A wicket.

After the fall of Taide and Samarth, Rathod anchored the innings with a fluent run-a-ball fifty, keeping Vidarbha on course for a big total.

He struck eight fours and two sixes, while Rohit Binkar (15 off nine balls, 2x6) and Dubey (10 off seven balls) provided late impetus to take the total to 300.

For Delhi, Ishant, Saini and Prince Yadav picked up two wickets each.

Brief Scores:

Vidarbha 300/9; 50 overs (Yash Rathod 86, Atharva Taide 62, Dhruv Shorey 49; Ishant Sharma 2/47, Prince Yadav 2/59, Navdeep Saini 2/68, Nitish Rana 2/19) beat Delhi 224; 45.1 overs (Anuj Rawat 66; Nachiket Bhute 4/51, Harsh Dubey 3/36, Praful Hinge 2/54) by 74 runs.