Jadeja keeps Saurahstra in QF hunt
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returned to form with an unbeaten century and steered Saurashtra to a fourwicket win over Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Batting at number four, Jadeja smashed a 116-ball 113 not out, inclusive of seven fours and four sixes, as Saurashtra knocked off Jharkhand's 330-run target with 10 balls to spare. Captain Cheteshwar Pujara also returned among runs (44 from 54 balls; 6x4) in a 73-run partnership with Jadeja at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad.
The left-hander also shared 114 runs with Chirag Jani (59) and played the finisher's role to perfection, taking them past the line in 48.2 overs, as Saurashtra returned to winning ways and remained in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth.
A splendid all-round show by Vishal Kushwah helped Chhattisgarh halt Ranji champions Vidarbha's fourmatch winning streak with a stunning 45-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here. Vidarbha remained on top with 16 points from five matches but the win lifted Chhattisgarh (12) to second place, going past Hyderabad (12) on net run rate in the group D table. Saurashtra (eight) jumped to fourth place with eight points from four matches. Batting at number seven, Kushwah hammered a 36-ball 61, studded with five sixes and four boundaries, to propel Chhattisgarh to a challenging 284 for eight after they elected to bat. Kushwah went on to become the wrecker-in-chief, returning figures of 4/54 with his medium pace bowling, as Vidarbha collapsed to 239 in 46.1 overs.
Kushwah dismissed Ganesh Satish (25) before removing Ravi Jangid (four) and Apoorv Wankhade (0) in five balls to derail their chase. In the 26th over, Kushwah got his fourth victim in captain Faiz Fazal, who got out for 53 as Vidarbha were left tottering for 125/6. Akshay Karnewar kept Vidarbha in the hunt with a 64ball 60 (3x4, 3x6) but his valiant effort went in vain, with Shahnawaz Hussain (3/41) wrapping up the issue in 46.1 overs. Earlier, captain Amandeep Khare was Chhattisgarh's top scorer with a 57ball 65 (7x4, 2x6) as he steered their middle order after a mini collapse.
Brief Scores: Chhattisgarh 284/8; 50 overs (A Khare 65, V Kushwah 61; S Wagh 3/58) beat Vidarbha 239 all out; 46.1 overs (A Karnewar 60, F Fazal 53; Kushwah 4/54, S Hussain 3/41) by 45 runs.
At AOC Centre Thapar Stadium, Secunderabad: Services 296/6; 50 overs (N Verma 125, R Singh 71; D Pathania 48 not out) lost to Jammu & Kashmir 297/5; 49 overs (S Khajuria 102, A Bandy 94, Ian Dev Singh 48) by five wickets.
At Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad: Jharkhand 329/9; 50 overs (I Kishan 93, S Kumar 64) lost to Saurashtra 333/6; 48.2 overs (R Jadeja 113 not out, C Jani 59) by four wickets.