Haryana dash TN’S hopes
CHENNAI: Haryana defeated Tamil Nadu by 77 runs to dash the host’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group ‘C’ league here on Tuesday.
Haryana looked in a spot of bother at 159 for 5 in the 35th over but a superb unbroken partnership of 151 runs between Himanshu Rana, who scored an unbeaten 89, and Rahu Tewatia, with an unbeaten 91, ensured the team posted a competitive total of 310 for 5.
In reply, Tamil Nadu never got going and lost wickets at regular intervals with only skipper Vijay Shankar, with 44, and B Anirudh Sitaram, with 33, coming up with a slim partnership of 42 runs.
Tamil Nadu finished at 233 for 9 in 50 overs to end its campaign with five wins and four defeats, securing 20 points.
In other matches, Assam trounced Tripura by eight wickets while Services’ hopes of advancing to the knockout stage was a dealt a blow with a loss against Rajasthan.
Jharkhand and Haryana lead the race for qualification to the knock-out stage with 28 points each from eight matches. BRIEF SCORES
Tripura 209 in 49.1 overs (Bishal Ghosh 100 (134b, 8x4, 1x6), Smit K Patel 33, Udiyan Bose 33, Abu Nechim Ahmed 3 for 35) lost to Assam 211 for 2 in 44.1 overs (Riyan Parag 82 (81b, 7x4, 2x6), Rishav Das 87 not out (122b, 6x4s). Points: Assam: 4; Tripura: 0.
Haryana 310 for 5 in 50 overs (Nitin Saini 40, Himanshu Rana 89 not out (76b, 5x4, 3x6), Pramod Chandila 32, Rahul Tewatia 91 not out (59b, 8x4, 5x6) beat Tamil Nadu 233 for 9 in 50 overs (Abhinav Mukund 47, Vijay Shankar 44, B Anirudh Sitaram 33, M Mohammed 36, C V Varun 32).
Points: Haryana: 4; Tamil Nadu: 0. Services 139 in 41.1 overs (Ravi Chauhan 47, Rahul Chahar 5 for 29) lost to Team Rajasthan 140 for 3 in 43 overs (Manendra Singh 83* (114b, 8x4, 2x6). Points: Rajasthan: 4; Services: 0.
DHONI MIGHT PLAY FOR JHARKHAND
NEW DELHI: Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in all likelihood will play in the knockouts in the Vijay Hazare Trophy after Jharkhand qualified for the quarter-finals of the national one-day competition.
Dhoni has been training with the Jharkhand team but didn’t play in the group league encounters of the team after coming back from Asia Cup.
There has been growing concerns about his batting form as he has not been able to force the pace during the middle overs even though he has the safest pair of gloves along with an astute tactical mind.
In the current year, Dhoni has played only 15 ODIS and 7 T20 internationals – effectively only 22 days for India and at times his lack of match time becomes pretty evident.
It has also become very difficult as neither state association nor the national selectors are aware as to how Dhoni manages his domestic calender. It is learnt that Dhoni has been given the freedom to pick and choose the limited over games that he wants to play for Jharkhand.
All the knock-out matches will be held in Bengaluru. Pithawala XI 231/6 in 79 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 112*, Saksham Jha 37*; Sagar Jadhav 4/27) vs Vengsarkar XI. Waingankar XI 262 in 62.3 overs (Sairaj Sangle 80, Nishant Williams 38, Omkar Jadhav 31; Kruthik Hangevadi 4/48) vs Chandrashekhar Sant XI 22/2.
SAI’S TON BOLSTERS VENGSARKAR XI
Sai Chavan scored 165 not out before retiring hurt, bolstering Dilip Vengsarkar XI to a strong first-innings score of 385 against Rohit Sharma XI in the Under-16 Payyade Trophy selection tournament