Vijay Hazare Trophy Round-up | Jammu & Kashmir register first win as Haryana lead the pack in Elite Group C

Elite Group C

Tamil Nadu vs Tripura

Brief scores: Tripura 196 in 46.4 overs (Smit Patel 60; Athisayaraj Davidson 3-46, Rahil Shah 2-35, Varun Chakravarthi 2-29) lost to Tamil Nadu 197/2 in 31.2 overs (Abhinav Mukund 131*; Harmeet Singh 2-46) by 8 wickets.

Tamil Nadu continued their strong performance in this year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament as they registered a smooth eight-wicket win against Tripura. Tripura won the toss and opted to bat first at the IIT Chemplast ground in Chennai. But a stunning bowling performance from the Vijay Shankar-led side ensured that the batting team were dismissed for a below-par total of 196 from 46.4 overs. While Smit Patel (60) and Ninad Kadam (31) top-scored for Tripura, it was Athisayaraj Davidson who shone for the bowling team as he picked up 3/46. Rahil Shah, Washington Sundar, and Varun Chakravarthi also picked up two wickets each.

Murali Vijay disappointed on his return to the state team as he was dismissed for just three runs. But a brilliant 131* from Abhinav Mukund ensured that the TN team remain in contention for a quarter-final berth in this year’s campaign. Mukund struck 13 fours and six sixes in his 100-ball innings to seal an eight-wicket victory for Tamil Nadu.

Jammu & Kashmir vs Rajasthan

Brief scores: Rajasthan 218/8 in 50 overs (Salman Khan 60, Manender Singh 50; Parvez Rasool 3-36) lost to Jammu & Kashmir 179/7 in 35.3 overs (Shubham Khajuria 57, Ian Chauhan 51; Rahul Chahar 3-37) by 3 wickets [VJD Method].

Northern strugglers Jammu & Kashmir ended their miserable run of six matches without a win as they beat Rajasthan by three wickets via the VJD method. In a rain-interrupted encounter at the SSN College Grounds in Chennai, J&K chased down a VJD-recalibrated target of 179 runs from 36 overs with three balls to spare. The Parvez Rasool-led side won the game thanks to fifties from Shubham Khajuria and Ian Chauhan.

Earlier in the day, Rajasthan won the toss and chose to bat but were kept down to 218 for 8 as J&K skipper Parvez Rasool claimed 3 for 36 from his 10 overs. Waseem Raza also put in 10 economical overs for his 2 for 23 as Rajasthan struggled through the middle and the latter phases of their innings. However, middle-order batsmen Salman Khan and Manender Singh gave them some credibility with their half-centuries.

Gujarat vs Haryana

Brief scores: Haryana 247/7 in 50 overs (Himanshu Rana 67, Jayant Yadav 47*; Chintan Gaja 3-44) beat Gujarat 203 in 46.1 overs (Chirag Gandhi 52; Jayant Yadav 3-35, Amit Mishra 2-41) by 44 runs.

Haryana ensured that they still remain in the race for a quarter-final spot as they beat Gujarat by a comfortable margin of 44 runs in Chennai. Haryana were put to bat first after Gujarat won the toss and opted to bowl. While the top-order batsmen struggled in the first innings, some good contributions from Himanshu Rana (67), Pramod Chandila (34), and Jayant Yadav (47) ensured that Haryana reached a competitive total of 247/7 after 50 overs.

Gujarat faced a tough start to their innings as well as they lost their first two wickets in quick succession. Yadav’s three-wicket haul ensured that their opponents would end the match 44 runs short of the target despite a hard-fought half-century from Chirag Gandhi.