Bawne’s 184 helps Maharashtra outclass Pondicherry
Ankit Bawne followed up his heroics against Mizoram with a thunderous 184 against Pondicherry, stitching up two important partnerships with Rahul Tripathi and Azim Kazi, as Maharashtra posted an impressive tally of 379. Sagar Udeshi and Rohan Suresh were on the receiving end of a few hits of Maharashtra. captain, who launched an assault after posting 95 in the previous game against Mizoram.
In response, Pondicherry were down to 70/3 in the chase, but a partnership of Paras Dogra (62) and Ankit Sharma (107) helped the team put on a spirited display in the chase. But ultimately they fell flat from 105 runs, as they could only post 274 after their 50 overs. Manoj Ingale and Satyajeet Bachhav were the bowlers’ picks, with numbers at 2/28 and 2/26.
Short Scores: Maharashtra 379/7 in 50 overs (Ankit Bawne 184*, Azim Kazi 88; Ankit Sharma 2/40) beat Puducherry 274/7 (Ankit Sharma 107*, Paras Dogra 62; Manoj Ingale 2/28, Satyajeet Bachhav 2 /26) per 105 runs
Result: Maharashtra qualify for the quarter-finals
Faiz Fazal helps Vidarbha overtake fiery Jharkhand
Despite losing Atharva Taide relatively early in the innings, Vidarbha put on a show with the bat on the back of a wild inning from fly-half Faiz Fazal. Fazal launched a blistering attack on Jharkhand, with 120 runs from just 133 balls, in a stroke that included 11 fours and four sixes. A late flurry from Ganesh Satish and Apoorv Wankhade took Vidarbha to a total of 297 bouts at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
If not for the heroism of Saurabh Tiwary, Jharkhand would have picked the early bus home, losing four wickets after putting just 42 runs on board. However, a fighting performance by Tiwary, 138 from 131, with 12 limits and three sixes, combined with shots from Kumar Kushagra (55) and Anukul Roy (39) brought Jharkhand excruciatingly close to the total as they narrowly missed nine passages in a thriller.
Short scores: Vidarbha (Faiz Fazal 120, Ganesh Satish 55; Bal Krishna 2/45) beat Jharkhand (Saurabh Tiwary 138, Kumar Kushagra 55; Akshay Karnewar 2/49) by nine points
Sarfaraz Khan continues his torrid run
Railways put on quite a show in Ranchi, as Pratham Singh scored an outstanding century against a strong Mumbai bowling unit, with eight limits and six one-shot sixes that always had the Mumbai side on their toes . Mohammad Saif also contributed hugely, with a 77-ball 92, as the Mumbai bowlers were on the receiving end of carnage in the first innings as the Railways posted a whopping 337 total after their 50 overs .
But Mumbai, being that powerhouse, chased the aggregate in just 48.3 overs, thanks to the scintillating century of the in-form Sarfaraz Khan. After leading Mumbai earlier to a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, Sarfaraz continued his golden run, with a 94-ball 117, a shot that single-handedly brought Mumbai home, after stuttering at 107/3 . Skipper Ajinkya Rahane also contributed with an 82-ball 88, as Mumbai confirmed their place in the quarter-finals.
Short score: Mumbai 338/5 (Sarfaraz Khan 117, Ajinkya Rahane 88; Susheel Kumar 3/53) beat Railways 337/5 (Pratham Singh 109, Saif 92; Tushar Deshpande 1/53) by five wickets
Avesh Khan crosses Baroda as Madhya Pradesh win big
It was a field day for Madhya Pradesh batters as four of their top five batters scored in half a century here in Mumbai. Shubham Sharma was the hitter’s choice, with an 85-88, while contributions from Yash Dubey (58), Himanshu Mantri (60), Rajat Patidar (52), all helped the team post a mammoth goal of 350 for Baroda.
Despite a plethora of big names in the Baroda setup, all they could manage was 59 runs on board, probably one of the worst nights for the national team as no batter posted a score double digits on board. Skipper Ambati Rayudu and fly-half Aditya Waghmode were the best with nine points each. On the bowling front, it was a raw bowling spectacle from 50-plus-year-old Indian prospect Avesh Khan, who bowled with numbers of 6/37, likely a night he will remember for years to come.
Short scores: Madhya Pradesh (Shubham Sharma 88, Himanshu Mantri 60; Lukman Meriwala 2/61) beat Baroda (Ambati Rayudu 9, Aditya Waghmode 9; Avesh Khan 6/37) by 290 points
Other notable results: Karnataka beat Rajasthan by 60, Assam stuns Delhi with 25 win, Uttar Pradesh slender past Saurashtra by two wickets, Gujarat beat Himachal by eight wickets, Hyderabad beat Chandigarh by 110 points, Punjab beat Nagaland by 6 wickets, Jammu and Kashmir beat Uttarakhand by nine wickets, no result between Tamil Nadu and Kerala
