Vijay Hazare Trophy | Elite Group A and B - Punjab, Haryana and Jharkand register dominant wins

After ramping up a hard-fought victory against Baroda, Haryana jumped to second position after winning 2 of its last 3 matches. In the meantime, Jharkhand beat Hyderabad comprehensively by 6 wickets to earn only its second victory. And finally, Punjab earned its first victory in emphatic fashion by crushing Vidarbha by 7 wickets.

Jharkhand 193-4 (33.4) beat Hyderabad 192-7 (34) by 6 wickets

After winning the toss in a rain-hit match, Hyderabad skipper chose to bat in a match that was reduced to 34 overs each side. The Hyderabadi openers proved their skipper's decision right by putting up an opening stand of 65 runs but then it all fell apart. Only Rayudu (69) was able to score freely while all other batsmen failed to capitalise after getting starts. With the ball, Jharkhand performed as a unit with Anukul Roy and Rahul Shukla the pick of the lot with 2 wickets each. In reply, Jharkhand after a faulty start cruised to a victory courtesy blistering innings' from Saurabh Tiwary (61) and Kumar Deobrat (56). The only bowler from Hyderabad who could make a mark was Milind, who scalped 2 wickets with an economy of under 4. 

Punjab 158-3 (46.2) beat Vidarbha 155 all-out (43.1) by 7 wickets

Winning the toss and bowling first, the Punjab bowlers put up a masterclass with the ball to torment the Vidarbha batters, eventually bowling them out for a modest score of 155. Faiz Fazal (72) was by some distance the best batsman for Vidarbha, while Karan Kaila (4/32) piled misery on the batters with his skill. With the bat, there was no hiccups for Punjab as the experienced duo of Anmolpreet Singh (42*) and Gurkeerat Singh (51*) took them over the line with more than three overs to spare.

Haryana 217-10 (49.1) beat Baroda 159-10 (40.2) by 58 runs

Haryana won the toss and chose to bat first but got off to a shaky start. However, Ankit Kumar (48) tried to stitch partnerships with Chaitanya Bisoi (4) and Rana (22) to stabilise the innings. Down the order, it was Pramod Chandila (48) and Sumit Kumar (58) who showed some resilience and took their team to a fighting total. For Baroda, skipper Krunal Pandya lead the line with the ball with 3 wickets and was well supported by Atit Sheth and Rishi Arothe who bagged 2 wickets each. Chasing a not so difficult target of 218, Baroda’s innings went haywire after a decent start. After an opening stand of 32, wickets tumbled at the other end while opener Aditya Waghmode (65) held one end strong, unfortunately, their innings collapsed at 159, handing Haryana an easy win. With the ball, Sumit Kumar spearheaded the attack with 5 wickets and was well supported by skipper Amit Mishra who claimed 3 wickets.