Opener Unmukt Chand smashed 90 as Delhi thrashed Bengal by 89 runs to continue their winning streak in the domestic one-day cricket tournament for the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday. Opting to bat after winning the toss, Delhi posted a competitive 282/2 in 50 overs at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium.
In reply, Bengal were all out for 193 in 41 overs with Abhimanyu Easwaran making 67. Delhi were off to a steady start as Unmukt and Hiten Dalal added 67 runs for the first wicket.
Last match centurion Dhruv Shorey fell cheaply for 11 after Dalal’s departure, but Unmukt found an able ally in Nitish Rana, who slammed 48 off 42 balls with the help of four sixes and two boundaries. The duo added 82 runs for the third wicket.
During his 114-ball knock, Unmukt struck nine boundaries and two sixes. When Bengal’s turn to bat came, their top-order struggled against the duo of medium pacer Suboth Bhati and left-arm medium pace bowler Kulwant Khejroliya. Both picked up three wickets each.
In the other Group B matches, Uttar Pradesh beat Himachal Pradesh by 43 runs in Bilaspur, while Kerala defeated Tripura by four wickets in Dharamsala.
MP beat Goa
Rajat Patidar continued his strong form, hammering an unbeaten 124 to power Madhya Pradesh to a crushing eight-wicket win over Goa. Chasing a modest 221 for victory, Patidar seemed to carry on from where he left against Tamil Nadu and toyed with the Goa attack at the MA Chidambaram stadium, hitting 13 fours and hoisting seven sixers.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha had set the tempo for MP with a quick-fire 50 in an opening stand of 81 to put the team on road to victory. Earlier, Goa couldn’t capitalise on Swapnil Asnodkar’s knock of 85 and collapsed to 220 all out. Sohraab Dhaliwal and Anshul Tripathi took three wickets each for MP.
Tamil Nadu lose again
Andhra, meanwhile, piled more misery on defending champions Tamil Nadu, posting a 29-run win. It was the host’s fourth straight loss in the tournament.
In the Andhra-Tamil Nadu game, the former rode on half centuries from opener K S Bharat (82), B Sumanth (62 not out) and Ricky Bhui (52) to post a competitive 276/6 in 50 overs.
In reply, Tamil Nadu could only muster 247. In another match, Gujarat thumped Team Rajasthan by seven wickets, romping to a win in 33.2 overs after bowling out its rival for 172 in 47.3 overs.