Delhi, Mumbai enter semi-finals
Gautam Gambhir smashed 104 off 72 balls while left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya took six wickets as Delhi defeated Haryana to move into the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Sunday.
Batting first, Haryana were all out for 229 with Khejroliya taking six wickets for 31 runs for his career-best performance in List A cricket. Navdeep Saini, with figures of three for 39, was a perfect foil for Khejroliya.
Birthday boy Gambhir ensured his team cantered to finishing line with a whirlwind knock comprising 16 fours. In the end, Delhi got home with 64 balls to spare and five wickets in hand. Dhruv Shorey scored 50 off 85 balls. Chasing 230, Umukt Chand (15) and Gambhir gave a good start, putting on 54 runs for first wicket before the former was caught by CN Saini off Arun Chaprana.
The skipper hit Yuzvendra Chahal for three consecutive boundaries in the 16th over.
Gambhir and Shorey put together a 118-run stand.
After Gambhir was caught by Nitin Saini off Rahul Tewatia, Nitish Rana (37 off 28) nearly ferried the team to victory post, before getting out. Earlier, Chaitnaya Bishnoi top-scored for Haryana with 85, while Pramod Chandila struck 59 off 88 balls. In the other quarter-final, Mumbai sailed into the semifinals after comprehensively beating Bihar by nine wickets.
Bihar were skittled out for 69 runs in 28.2 overs with Mumbai riding high on the back of Tushar Deshpande’s five-wicket haul.
He finished with figures of five for 23. Deshpande was well supported by Shams Mulani (3/18)
BRIEF SCORES: Bihar 69 in 28.2 overs (T Deshpande 5/23, S Mulani 3/18) lost to Mumbai 70/1 in 12.3 overs (R Sharma 33*) by nine wickets Haryana 229 in 49.1 overs (C Bishnoi 85, P Chandila 59, K Khejroliya 6/31, N Saini 3/39) lost to Delhi 230/5 in 39.2 overs (G Gambhir 104, D Shorey 50, R Tewatia 3/32) by five wickets