Vidarbha and Punjab entered the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru on Tuesday, registering dominant wins over Delhi and Madhya Pradesh respectively.
While Vidarbha, runners-up in the tournament last season, prevailed by 76 runs, Madhya Pradesh were no match for their opponents on the day, falling short by a whopping 183 runs.
Vidarbha will now face Karnataka in the semifinals, a repeat of last season’s title clash, on Thursday, while Punjab will take on Saurashtra a day later.
Vidarbha were asked to bat first and posted 300 for nine in 50 overs, with Yash Rathod (86) and opener Atharva Taide (62) their main scorers. It was always a tall order for Delhi, without the injured Rishabh Pant and latest India call-up Ayush Badoni, who were bowled out for 224 in 45.1 overs.
Seamer Nachiket Bhute was the wrecker-in-chief, returning figures of 4/51 from 7.1 overs, doing his damage at the top before finishing matters by dismissing the tail.
Skipper Harsh Dubey took 3/36 from nine overs with his left-arm spin. Wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat was the top-scorer for Delhi with a 66 off 98 balls with seven fours, but without any significant contribution from the top order, they were always behind in the game. With the asking rate climbing steadily, Rawat had to take chances and they didn’t come off.
Priyansh Arya, an IPL sensation with Punjab Kings, had earlier given Delhi hope but a 17-ball 28, with four fours and a six, was never going to be enough. Nitish Rana getting a golden duck was another big blow for the team from the Capital.
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Earlier, Vidarbha had lost opener Aman Mokhade cheaply, but the 90-run stand between Taide and Dhruv Shorey (49 off 71 balls, 7×4) got them back on track.
Delhi skipper Ishant Sharma bowled Taide to register his 200th List A wicket.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha 300/9 (Yash Rathod 86, Atharva Taide 62, Dhruv Shorey 49) beat Delhi 224 (Anuj Rawat 66; Nachiket Bhute 4/51, Harsh Dubey 3/36) by 76 runs
No contest
Punjab’s batting might was on full display in the quarterfinal against Madhya Pradesh before their bowlers completed the job.
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Skipper Prabhsimran Singh hit an 86-ball 88, Anmolpreet Singh contributed a 62-ball 70, Nehal Wadhera smashed 56 off 38 deliveries, Ramandeep Singh bludgeoned a 15-ball 24 with Harnoor Singh’s 51 off 71 balls being the anchor as Punjab amassed 345 for six.
Madhya Pradesh were never in the chase and were bowled out for 162 in 31.2 overs.
Punjab dominated from the very beginning of proceedings as openers Prabhsimran and Harnoor put on 166 runs in just over 21 overs, and every subsequent batsman only added to Madhya Pradesh’s misery.
The chase never got off the ground as Madhya Pradesh was reduced to 66 for five in the 17th over. Rajat Patidar was the top scorer with a 40-ball 38, but it didn’t have any impact on the overall drift of the game.
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Sanvir Singh was the most successful bowler for Punjab, snaring three victims for 31 runs in his six overs.
Brief Scores:
Punjab 345/6 (Prabhsimran Singh 88, Anmolpreet Singh 70, Nehal Wadhera 56, Harnoor Singh 51) beat Madhya Pradesh 162 (Rajat Patidar 38; Sanvir Singh 3/31) by 183 runs.
