Rajkot, Jan 6 :Abhishek Goswami hit a fine century as Uttar Pradesh produced a sensational batting effort to storm into the quarterfinals of Vijay Hazare Trophy with a 54-run win over Vidarbha in a crucial Group B match here on Tuesday.
Sent in to bat, Uttar Pradesh posted 339/5 with Goswami slamming 103. The opener was ably supported by scintillating fifties from Priyam Garg (67), Dhruv Jurel (56) and Rinku Singh (57).
In reply, Aman Mokhade came up with a fighting 147 but Vidarbha could manage 285 for 9 in 50 overs with Kuldeep Yadav (3/52) taking three wickets.
Uttar Pradesh thus continued their flawless record to top the table with 20 points, followed by Vidarbha, Bengal and Baroda — all tied at 16 points with one match to go.
Aman Rao’s double ton dents Bengal’s hopes
US-born Aman Rao underlined his prowess as a big hitter with a scintillating double century as out-of-reckoning Hyderabad thrashed Bengal by 107 runs in a Group B match to dent the latter’s quarterfinal hopes.
The 21-year-old Rao, who was signed by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction, smashed 12 fours and 13 sixes en route to his 200 not out from 109 balls, achieved in just his third List A appearance, to take Hyderabad to a commanding 352 for 5.
It was the second double century of this edition of the tournament, after Odisha’s Swastik Samal had struck 212 against Saurashtra in December last.
Sent in to bat, Rao tore apart a Bengal bowling attack featuring Mohammed Shami (3/70), Akash Deep (0/78) and Mukesh Kumar (0/55), scoring 120 of his runs off the trio with a display of power and class.
Rao put on 104 runs for the opening wicket with Rahul Singh (65) and later added 87 runs with skipper Tilak Varma (34).
He brought up his double hundred in style, smashing a six off the final ball of the innings.
Premier pacer Mohammed Siraj then produced a sensational opening spell en route to figures of 10–0–58–4 to derail Bengal’s chase as they folded for 245 in 44.4 overs.
Siraj’s exploits left Bengal tottering at 73 for 4 and they could never recover from the blow. Shahbaz Ahmed waged a lone battle with an unbeaten 113-ball 108 before running out of partners.
The loss left Bengal on four wins from six games to be placed at the third spot behind Vidarbha on NRR.
Vishnu, Priyanshu power Baroda
Vishnu Solanki (132) and Priyanshu Moliya (114) hit superb hundreds as Baroda defeated Jammu and Kashmir by 76 runs.
Opting to bat, Baroda posted 332 all out in 50 overs, courtesy the twin hundreds by Solanki and Moliya.
They then returned to bowl out J&K for 256 in 45.3 overs, despite fighting fifties by Dikshant Kundal (66) and Kawalpreet Singh (65).
The win put Baroda in a tie with Bengal and Vidarbha at 16 points.
Strong centuries by Vohra and Azad set up seven-wicket win for Chandigarh
In other results, Manan Vohra (102) and Arjun Azad (140) slammed commanding hundreds as Chandigarh registered a seven-wicket win over Assam.
Sibsankar Roy made 106 not out to guide Assam to 284-7 but Chandigarh overhauled the target in 47.2 overs with opening duo of skipper Vohra and Azad forming a 244-run alliance.
Brief Scores:
Uttar Pradesh 339/5 in 50 overs (Abhishek Goswami 103; Harsh Dubey 1/51) beat Vidarbha 285/9 in 50 overs (Aman Mokhade 147; Kuldeep Yadav 3/52) by 54 runs.
Hyderabad 352/5 in 50 overs (Aman Rao 200 not out; Mohammed Shami 3/70) beat Bengal 245allout in 44.4 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 108; Mohammed Siraj 4/58) by 107 runs.
Baroda 332 all out in 50 overs (Priyanshu Moliya 114, Vishnu Solanki 132; Auqib Nabi 4/52) beat Jammu and Kashmir 256 in 45.3 overs (Dikshant Kundal 66, Kawalpreet Singh 65; Karan Umatt 2/42, Krunal Pandya 2/45) by 76 runs.
Assam 284/7 in 50 overs (Sibsankar Roy 106; Nishunk Birla 3/38) lost by seven wickets to Chandigarh 286 for 3 in 47.2 overs (Manan Vohra 102, Arjun Azad 140; Akash Sengupta 1/65).
