Kerala vs Delhi
Gautam Gambhir smashed 151 off 104 balls and Dhurv Shorey remained unbeaten on 99 as Delhi thrashed Kerala by 165 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group B match at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi.
Batting first, Delhi, who were without Rishabh Pant, posted a mammoth 392 for 3 riding on impeccable performance by their top order led by captain Gautam Gambhir.
Delhi got off to a dream start with Gambhir and Chand putting on a 172-run opening stand before the latter got out for 69 in the 26th over. Gambhir was then joined by Shorey and the due took apart the Kerala bowlers, dispatching them to all parts of the ground. Delhi scored 123 runs in 88 balls in that period.
Shorey continued after Gambhir’s dismissal and took Delhi to 392. He, unfortunately, could not get to three-figure mark and remained unbeaten on 99. He hit 7 sixes in his 68-ball stay in the middle.
In reply, Kerala were never really in the chase and laboured their way to 227 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs.
Top Performer: Gautam Gambhir was in an entirely different mood on Friday. He scored at a strike rate of 145.19, hitting four sixes and 18 boundaries. Apart from Gambhir’s impeccable batting skills, which needed no proof, Gambhir’s leadership skills again came to the fore as he unselfishly decided to retire out, just after bringing up his 150, to provide an opportunity to the middle order.
Hyderabad vs Uttar Pradesh
In another Group B match at Palam A ground in New Delhi, Hyderabad mauled Uttar Pradesh by 9 wickets.
Hyderabad bowled UP out for a mere 130 in 39.1 overs and chased down the target in 35.2 overs with openers Tanmay Agarwal(62) and captain Akshath Reddy(64) scoring impressive half-centuries.
Top Performer: There is a Mehidy Hasan in Bangladesh’s team, who has been giving a tough time to batsmen in the Asia Cup and here in New Delhi, his namesake, Hyderabad’s Mehdi Hasan, who is also an off-spinner ran through the UP batting line-up with five for 20 in his 10 overs.
Star Watch: Captain Suresh Raina was the standout performer in a dismal batting show by UP. Raina fought hard with a free-flowing 53 before getting out bowled to Mohammad Siraj.
Madhya Pradesh vs Odisha
Madhya Pradesh clinched a thrilling 1-run win over Odisha in another Group B match at Palam B ground in New Delhi.
Batting first, MP scored 276 for 8 powered by a 75-run knock by Yash Dubey.
In reply, Odisha fell agonisingly short by 1 run. Opener Anurag Sarangi top scored with 78. For MP, Rameez Shah picked up four wickets for 49 runs.