Vijay Hazare Trophy | Delhi edge Baroda, Sumit Kumar’s all-round performance leads Haryana to easy win against Odisha
Bangalore continued to disappoint when it comes to results in the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches as overnight rain played spoilsport in Friday’s fixtures. In Vadodara, Delhi and Haryana emerged victorious as they got the better of Baroda and Odisha respectively in Friday’s encounter.
The match that was supposed to be played between Mumbai vs Hyderabad at the KSCA Cricket (3) Ground in Alur was abandoned due to wet outfield while Alur’s Ground 2 couldn’t prepare itself for the game between Chhattisgarh and Goa. Toss was not even possible in those encounters. Meanwhile, the match between Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh was abandoned due to incessant rain in the western Indian town of Vadodara. However, fortunately, the city could host two full matches today after seeing 22 of the 23 scheduled games getting abandoned, till yesterday.
The rain-curtailed match between Delhi and hosts Baroda was reduced to 38 overs in which Baroda skipper Krunal Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first. The decision seemed to be the right one at the moment, as Delhi suffered a top-order collapse, with Atit Sheth and Pandya being two wreckers in chief. Chasing a target of 149 was not going to be that difficult for the hosts, but Navdeep Saini’s three-wicket haul and Kulwant Khejroliya’s damage upfront ensured Baroda were restricted within 128, losing the game to Dhruv Shorey-led side by 10 runs (VJD Method).
The match between Odisha and Haryana at Sangramsinh Gaekwad Sports Academy in Vadodara was also reduced by four overs due to wet outfield. Opting to bat first, Odisha were in for a difficult time as in conditions suitable for fast bowling, the duo of Harshal Patel and Sumit Kumar put Haryana on top.
Former skipper Govinda Poddar starred with the bat for Odisha alongside young opener Sandeep Pattnaik, with 64 and 44 runs respectively, ensuring the team were in for a decent total. With wickets falling like ninepins, veteran wicket-keeper Sujit Lenka, whose selection ahead of Rajesh Dhuper has been much-debated, rose to the occasion to score a quickfire 34 that took the total to 207.
Rajesh Mohanty was parsimonious with the ball, picking two wickets for 37 runs, but his performance was not going to be enough for the Odisha team to topple the Amit Mishra-led side. Jayant Yadav’s patient 67 alongside Sumit’s unbeaten 64 resulted in Haryana achieving the target in 43.5 overs, with six wickets to spare.