Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015: Day 4 review

Some low scoring encounters were witnessed on Day 4 of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy being played at various venues across the country. Delhi, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan and Himachal won their matches quite comfortably on a day dominated by the bowlers.

1. Punjab win a rip-roaring contest:

Mandeep Singh’s brilliant unbeaten 117 off 97 took Punjab to 327/4. In reply Sarupam Purkayastha’s classy 125 off 112 brought Assam within a touching distance, however, his team failed to cross the line losing by 1 run in a cracking contest at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad.

Brief scores:

Punjab 327/4 in 50 overs (M Singh 125; A Verma 2/61) beat Assam 326/8 in 50 overs (S Purkayastha 125; S Kaul 3/74 ) by 1 runs.

2. Karnataka gather momentum:

The defending champions beat Gujarat by 15 runs (VJD method) and continued to build some much-needed momentum. Chasing 233 Gujarat got off to a solid start, however, a disciplined bowling effort from Karnataka bowlers pegged them back. Rain interruption meant reduced the second innings to 44 overs and the visitors fell short by 15 runs. Manish Pandey was the most brilliant batsman on show today from both sides.

Brief scores:

Karnataka 233/8 in 50 overs (M Pandey 94; A Patel 2/33) beat Gujarat 189/8 in 44 overs (S Purkayastha 125; S Kaul 3/74 ) by 15 runs (VJD method).

3. Maharashtra register a comprehensive win:

A hundred each from Ankit Bawane and Kedar Jadhav took their team to 241/8 which proved enough at the end. At 51/1 from 10.2 overs and later 111/3 from 23.4, Andhra was in the game, however, lost their way after losing the 4^th wicket with the score on 146 in 30.5 overs. They fell short by 47 runs courtesy a flurry of wickets which hurt them badly.

Brief scores:

Maharashtra 241/8 in 50 overs (K Jadhav 101; S Kumar 3/24) beat Andhra 194/10 in 42.5 overs (S Koripalli 74; S Kazi 4/36) by 47 runs

4. Baroda continue marching on:

Aditya Waghmode’s solid 111 took Baroda to a competitive 225 against Odisha which his team’s bowlers defended brilliantly. Two wickets each for Munaf Patel, Hardik Pandya and Bhargav Bhatt ensured a comfortable 56 run win for their team. Natraj Behera valiant 67* went in vain as other batsmen failed to produce the required solidity.

Brief scores:

Baroda 225/10 in 50 overs (A Waghmode 111; A Yadav 4/44) beat Odisha 169/10 in 46.2 overs (N Behera 67*; B Bhatt 2/16) by 56 runs

5. Himachal hammer Saurashtra:

Saurashtra folded for 195 to a brilliant effort from all Himachal bowlers. Only Cheteshwar Pujara showed some fight with a fine 73 off 113. In reply, Himachal cruised home by 7 wickets thanks to a solid 76 off 109 from opener Ankush Bains.

Brief scores:

Saurashtra  195/10 in 48.4 overs (C Pujara 73; R Dhawan 3/46) lost to Himachal 197/3 in 43.2 overs (A Bains 76; K Makwana 2/26) by 7 wickets

6. Rajasthan thump Hyderabad:

Fifties from MN Singh and Ashok Menaria took Rajasthan to 250/8 which proved way beyond Hyderabad. TM Haq’s four-for gifted his team a victory by 102 runs in a one-sided contest. Hyderabad’s performances in this competition have thus far been highly disappointing.

Brief scores:

Rajasthan 250/8 in 50 overs (A Menaria 55; R Kiran 4/57) beat to Hyderabad 148/10 in 39 overs (H Vihari 39; TM Haq 4/44) by 102 runs

7. Tamil Nadu continue dominating:

M Mohammed’s 5/50 restricted Services to 192 which was easily gunned down by TN. Abhinav Mukund’s classy 85 off 110 sealed the deal for the inform TN. Baba Aparajith’s 66* off 91 was the other notable contribution.

Brief scores:

Services 192/8 in 50 overs (Y Singh 56*; M Mohammed 5/50) lost to TN 193/3 in 39.4 overs (A Mukund 85; D Pathania 3/41) by 7 wickets.

8. MP beats UP in a one-sided contest:

UP got bundled out for 211 in 46.3 overs due to a high-class bowling effort from MP. Fifties from Umang Sharma and Akshdeep Nath took their team to a fighting total however Naman Ojha’s magnificent century gave MP an easy win. Harpreet Singh Bhatia’s run-a-ball 63 was also a delightful knock.

Brief scores:

Uttar Pradesh 211 in 46.3 overs (A Nath 56*; J Saxena 2/33) lost to Madhya Pradesh 212/2 in 39.1 overs (N Ojha 114*; B Kumar 1/44) by 8 wickets.

9. Kerela register a commanding win:

J & K could only manage 130 against Kerala in a one-sided contest. Nikhilesh Surendran’s unbeaten 85 gave his team an easy win in just 29.5 overs. It was a disappointing performance from J & K on a good surface.

Brief scores:

J & K 130 in 42.3 overs (B Singh 31; F Ahmed 3/24) lost to Kerala 134/3 in 29.5 overs (N Surendran 85*; P Rasool) by 7 wickets.

10. Jharkhand has it easy:

Haryana were blown away for a paltry 133 by Jharkhand in another one-sided match. Beaten by 9 wickets, Haryana will need a big effort against Gujarat tomorrow.

Brief scores:

Haryana 133/10 in 33 overs (R Dagar 38; R Shukla 3/33) lost to Jharkhand 134/1 in 39.4 overs (I Jaggi 62; H Patel 1/38) by 9 wickets.

11. Delhi dominate Tripura:

Pawan Suyal’s 3 wicket haul and fine contributions from other bowlers helped Delhi bundle out Tripura for 100. Nitish Rana’s 67* finished the match in 16 overs.

Brief scores:

Tripura 100/10 in 39.3 overs (P Singh 20; P Suyal 3/14) lost to Delhi 101/2 in 16 overs (N Rana 67; R Datta 2/21) by 9 wickets.