Mumbai missed a chance to finish top of Group C in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and set up a quarterfinal clash with Madhya Pradesh as they collapsed from 201/5 to 215 against Punjab in the last Group C fixture on Thursday. The defeat meant Punjab took the top spot and would now face Madhya Pradesh, while Mumbai will have to face rivals Karnataka in the quarterfinals to be played in Bengaluru on January 12.
Chasing a modest total, Mumbai were in touching distance before the dismissal of captain Shreyas Iyer injected life into the game in Jaipur. Thereafter, Punjab spinners Mayank Markande, Harpreet Brar and Haroon Singh took care of the tail as Mumbai lost their last five wickets for 14 runs. This was after Sarfaraz Khan scored the fastest List A fifty by an Indian, getting to the landmark off just 15 deliveries. Batting at No 3, he made 62 off 20 deliveries in an innings that included seven boundaries and five sixes. The rapid start given by Sarfaraz and by Shreyas, who made 45 off 34 meant Mumbai had enough overs under their belt, but blew their chances in the most stunning fashion. They were bowled out in 26.2 overs.
Earlier, a 74-ball 72 from Ramandeep Singh and 57 from Anmolpreet Singh had taken Punjab to 216 in 45.1 overs. With Shardul Thakur already ruled out and Shreyas set to join the Indian team for the ODIs against New Zealand, Mumbai will have to do without their star players in the knockouts.
Punjab players celebrate the wicket of Mumbai’s Onkar Tarmale during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 cricket match between Mumbai and Punjab, at Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, in Jaipur, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (PTI Photo)
In another Group C fixture, dropped from the Indian team, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 134 off 131 in Maharashtra’s total of 249/7. Coming in with his team struggling at 16/4, which soon became 25/5 Gaikwad found support from Vicky Ostwal (53) and Rajvardhan Hangargekar (32 n.o) to lift Maharashtra to a decent total. That proved to be enough as Maharashtra attack defended the total with leg-spinner Prashant Solkanki returning with figures of 4/56. But it was seamer Ramakrishna Ghosh who hogged the limelight, bowling a maiden in the last over with six runs to defend.
In Group A, with Karnataka already booking their spot, it was battle between Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Coming up against Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh came out triumphant. With left-arm wrist-spinner Shivang Kumar running through Karnataka’s batting order, they were shut out for 207 in 47.4 overs. Chasing a modest total, Venkatesh Iyer top-scored with an unbeaten 65 as MP won by seven wickets in 23.2 overs which boosted their net run-rate as well. But that wasn’t required at all as Kerala imploded against a struggling Tamil Nadu team. Batting first, thank to N Jagadeesan’s 139, TN made 294/8. In reply, Kerala began on a strong note and were placed at 117/1 in the 16th over before losing the way to TN spinners to be bowled out for 217 in 40.2 overs.
In Group B, it came down to net run-rate. With Uttar Pradesh taking the top spot, it was contest between Vidarbha and Baroda. Though Baroda defeated Chandigarh by 149 runs, it wasn’t enough to overtake Vidarbha which defeated Assam by 160 runs. In Group D, Delhi and Saurashtra made the cut.
Quarter-finals line-up
Uttar Pradesh vs Saurashtra
Karnataka vs Mumbai
Delhi vs Vidarbha
Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh
