Vijay Hazare Trophy: Pant's ton goes in vain; Kerala, Maharashtra win

Delhi lost a thriller to Himachal Pradesh by two runs with a serious possibility of losing out on quarter-final berth in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Nadaun.

Delhi vs Himachal Pradesh, Group B

Delhi lost a thriller to Himachal Pradesh by two runs with a serious possibility of losing out on quarter-final berth in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Nadaun.

Himachal Pradesh scored 304 for five and Delhi were bowled out for 302 in reply. The loss meant, Delhi finished their group league engagements with16 points from six games but now are in danger of crashing out with three teams -- Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala locked on 14 points.

With Maharashtra facing Kerala in the decider, one team will go on to 18 points and Delhi will pray that Bengal beat Himachal in the final game so that they can qualify as the second team.

Star Performer: Rishabh Pant once again showed his mastery in white ball cricket with a brilliant 93-ball-135. He hit 16 boundaries and five sixes. The century came in only 69 balls but it was not enough to take Delhi over the line.

Kerala vs Uttar Pradesh, Group B

An all-round performance helped Kerala thump Uttar Pradesh by 122 runs in their Group B encounter at Dharamsala.

Batting first, Kerala posted 261 for 9 riding on twin half-centuries Rohan Prem (66) and wicket-keeper Arun Karthik (54). In reply, Kerala folded for 141 in 39.2 overs.

Star Performer: Fast bowler Sandeep Warrier and left-arm spinner K Akshay did the trick for Kerala. Both of them picked returned with three-wicket hauls to strangle the Kerala batting line-up.

Star Watch: Sanju Samson failed to impress with the bat. The wicket-keeper batsman could only 14 runs off 28 balls in his inning full of struggles.

Tripura vs Maharashtra, Group B 

In another Group B match, Maharashtra trounced Tripura by 4 wickets at Bilaspur. Tripura scored 222 for 7, batting first, which Maharashtra chased down in 41.1 overs.

Star Performer: Ruturaj Gawkwad struck his maiden first class ton to guide Maharashtra to the target. The 21-year-old, hit 115 with four sixes and nine boundaries at an impressive strike rate of 109.52.