Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019 | Rain plagued day in Dehradun produces a single result
The string of abandoned matches in the ongoing domestic ODI tournament continued as two matches in the Plate Group which were to be held in Dehradun were abandoned without a ball being bowled. In the only match that was able to achieve completion, Uttarakhand triumphed over Assam in a thriller.
Relentless rain has affected the latest edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy drastically with more matches being abandoned daily than those being played and the same was applicable for the Plate group on Friday. Only a single match of the three scheduled to be held in Dehradun could determine a winner and a loser while the teams in the other two matches had to satisfy themselves by sharing the points.
The match between Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim at the Abhimanyu Cricket Stadium was initially delayed due to a wet outfield but continuous downpour meant the toss could never take place. Both teams had lost their opening group stage matches and will have to wait longer to record their first victory in the tournament.
The match between Assam and uttarakhand was also a bit delayed but play was able to start later on as the length was reduced to 28 overs per side. Winning the toss, Uttarakhand opted to bowl first in what was always going to be a low scoring encounter. Even though the openers started out strong as they built a half-century partnership and both crossed the milestone of 30 runs, Pawan Negi’s breakthrough in the 11th over saw wickets tumbling one after the other. A good cameos by the middle-order saw Assam’s score being driven to a defendable 171/9, with Negi ending up three wickets.
Their bowlers however, never really looked like troubling the batsmen. A solid 80 by skipper Unmukt Chand coming off just 78 balls, laced with seven fours and three sixes along with a quickfire 45 off 20 balls by Saurabh Rawat helped them chase down the total with eight balls and seven wickets to spare.
The match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium between Mizoram and Puducherry never really looked like it’ll go through as the two teams never got the chance to even take the field. While Mizoram had lost one game and one won ahead of the day’s match, their counterparts had recorded a victory in their only game.
