Manan quickfire 72 guides Punjab to victory, Haryana beat Services

NEW DELHI: Punjab, alongside Delhi are all but through to the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy after a 19-run win over Himachal Pradesh in a high-scoring North Zone match here on Monday. Manan Vohra (74 off 42) and Mandeep Singh (46 off 32) shared a 108run stand to help Punjab post 211 for four in 20 overs. Yuvraj Singh scored 21 off 14 balls.

Himachal Pradesh fought hard through captain Prashant Chopra (52 off 35) and Nikhil Gangta (52 off 32) but fell short of the target, ending at 192 for five.

The win left Punjab at second spot in the standings behind Delhi though they both are on 12 points. The rest of the four teams in the group are on eight points.

Top two teams from each of the five zones qualify for the Super League. In the other North Zone match, Haryana beat Services by four wickets. Services scored 140 for eight and Haryana got past the target with only a ball to spare.

MP BEAT RAILWAYS

RAIPUR: Skipper Harpreet Singh cracked a half-century to guide Madhya Pradesh to a 24-run win over Railways in a Central Zone match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament here on Monday.

In another Central Zone match, UP defeated Ranji champions Vidarbha by six runs.

Brief Scores: Punjab 211/4 in 20 overs (M Vohra 74, Mandeep 46) bt HP 192/5 in 20 overs (P Chopra 52, N Gangta 52 no, M Markande 2/35).

Services 140/8 in 20 overs (A Chahal 3/36, J Yadav 2/13) lost to Haryana 141/6 in19.5 overs (S Chauhan 54, D Pathania 3/27).

MP 135/7 (H Singh 50; ACP Mishra 3/7) bt Rlys: 111/6 (M Rawat 38; Avesh Khan 2/16).

UP 137/8 (S Chaudhary 51; SB Wagh 3/28) bt Vidarbha: 131/8 (Amit Mishra 4/10).