Hazare Trophy: Sarfaraz slams ton as Mumbai qualify for knockouts

Maharashtra top Group E, Mumbai pip Bengal to second qualifying spot

A blistering 117 off 94 balls by Sarafaraz Khan and captain Ajinkya Rahane's 88 helped Mumbai beat Railways in a Group E match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament and secure a spot in the knockout phase, in Ranchi on Wednesday.

Mumbai's thrilling win also sent Bengal out of contention for the knockout phase. Rahane's men advanced to the knock-outs on the basis of better net run-rate.

Maharashtra thumped Puducherry by 105 runs in another match to remain unbeaten and on top of the group with 24 points from six games.

Railways won the toss and put up a massive 337 for 5 in 50 overs thanks to Pratham Singh's 109 (108 balls, 8 fours, 6 sixes) and Mohammad Saif's 92 (77 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes).

Despite losing opener Shivam Chaudhary (6) in the fourth over, Vivek Singh (47) and Pratham Singh kept the scoreboard ticking. While Vivek Singh played second fiddle in the 102-run partnership, Pratham was in an aggressive mood and did not hesitate to take the aerial route as his six maximums showed.

After the exit of Vivek Singh, Saif and Pratham put on 140 runs in less than 20 overs, taking advantage of some poor bowling by the Mumbai attack.

Though the exit of Pratham and Saif subsequently put a brake on the scoring, Railways took the score to 337.

In reply, Prthivi Shaw (51, 47 balls, 8 fours), as is his wont, went on the attack mode from the word go. After the loss of opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal (4), Shaw forged a 58-run stand with Armaan Jaffer (30) for the second wicket to provide the momentum in the big chase.

Shaw fell to Karn Sharma (1/77) and this brought Rahane and Sarfaraz Khan together. The duo combined for a 152-run partnership in quick time. Both went on the attack and hit boundaries to maintain the momentum.

After Rahane was bowled by Susheel Kumar 12 short of a ton, Khan continued to find the gaps and boundaries. Shams Mulani (46 not out, 31 balls) proved to be an able ally for Sarfaraz Khan and the duo took the team close to victory before the centurion was dismissed by Himanshu Sangwan (1/60).

Mulani took Mumbai home in the company of Hardik Tamore (1 not out).

In the match between Maharashtra and Puducherry, the former rode on captain Ankit Bawane's quickfire 184 not out (143 balls, 28 fours, 4 sixes) and half-centuries by Azim Kazi (88) and Rahul Tripathi (61) to power their way to 379 for 7 in 50 overs.

Puducherry made a poor start, losing opener R Ragupathy (0) in the first over but Ankit Sharma (107 not out, 103 balls, 9 fours, 3 sixes) and Paras Dogra (62) kept the team in the hunt.

In the end, Puducherry fell short by 105 runs.

While Maharashtra qualified for the quarterfinals directly by topping the group, Mumbai will play the pre-quarterfinals after finishing second with 16 points from six matches (4 wins and two losses).

Bengal also secured 16 points following four wins and two defeats but lost out on the net run rate (1.058 to Mumbai's 1.388).

Brief Scores: Maharashtra 379 for 7 in 50 overs (Ankit Bawane 184 not out, Azim Kazi 88, Rahul Tripathi 61) beat Puducherry 274 for 7 in 50 overs (Ankit Sharma 107 not out, Paras Dogra 62) by 105 runs. Maharashtra: 4 points, Puducherry: 0.

Railways 337 for 5 in 50 overs (Pratham Singh 109, Mohd Saif 92, Vivek Singh 47) lost to Mumbai 338 for 5 in 48.3 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 117, Ajinkya Rahane 51, Shams Mulani 46 not out, Susheel Kumar 3/53) by five wickets. Mumbai: 4 points, Railways: 0.

Services 318 for 6 in 50 overs (Shubham Rohilla 99, Ravi Chauhan 60, Arjun Sharma 53, Anshul Gupta 34, Devender Lochab 33) beat Mizoram 197 for 8 in 50 overs (Taruwar Kohli 89, Vikash Kumar 32 not out, Nitin Yadav 2 /14) by 121 runs. Services: 4 points, Mizoram: 0

Saurashtra, Uttar Pradesh move to knockout stage from Group A

Former champions Saurashtra and Uttar Pradesh advanced to the knock-out stage of the Vijay Hazare Trophy from group A in New Delhi.

Four teams ended with 20 points each at the end of the group stage matches. However, Saurashtra (1.737) and Uttar Pradesh (0.604) qualified for knock-outs based on superior net run rate than Hyderabad (0.513) and Chandigarh (-0.031).

Akshdeep Nath and Saurabh Kumar scored fifties to help Uttar Pradesh notch a two-wicket win over Saurashtra.

While Akshdeep scored and unbeaten 89 off 109 balls Saurabh plundered 63 runs off 65 deliveries to chase down UP's 218 for 9 with 14 balls to spare.

In another match, Hyderabad thrashed Chandigarh by 110 runs.

Invited to bat, Hyderabad piled on 306 for 5, thanks to fifties by skipper Tanma Agarwal (52) and Rohit Rayudu (68), Bhavesh Seth (71) and Rahul Buddhi (57 not out).

Anikethreddy (3/21) and Mehrdtra Shashank (3/34) then picked up three wickets each to bundle out Chandigarh for 196.

Gujarat hammered defending champions Himachal Pradesh by eight wickets while Tripura inflicted a 240-run defeat on Manipur in the other games.

Opener Bikramkumar Das (123) scored a hundred for Tripura after being asked to bat while Sudip Chatterjee (53) and Deepak Khatri (58) scored fifties.

Chasing 346, Manipur never got the momentum going as they lost wickets quickly. Medium pacer Manisankar Murasingh (5/22) blew apart the Manipur top order.

Brief Scores: Saurashtra:218 for 9 in 50 overs (Samarth Vyas 42; Shivam Mavi 2/17)

Uttar Pradesh: 219 for 8 in 47.4 overs (Akshdeep Nath 89; Parth Bhut 3/64)

Himachal Pradesh: 265 all out in 49.2 overs (Akash Vashisht 92, Mayank Dagar 92; Chitan Gaja 5/42)

Gujarat 270 for 2 on 47.3 overs (Kathan Patel 80, Priyank Panchal 78; Akash Vasisht 2/52)

Tripura: 346 for 6 in 50 overs (Bikramkumar Das 123; Bikash Singh 4/56)

Manipur: 206 all out in 28 overs (Karnajit Yumnam 25; Manisankar Murasingh 5/22)

Hyderabad: 306 for 5 in 50 overs (Bhavesh Seth 71; Arpit Pannu 2/55)

Chandigarh: 196 all out in 46.3 overs (Gurinder Singh 59; Anikethreddy 3/21) 

Punjab, J&K qualify for Vijay Hazare knock-outs from Group D

Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir qualified for the knock-out stages of the Vijay Hazare Trophy from Group D with convincing wins over their respective rivals in Mumbai.

While Punjab beat Nagaland by six wickets, Jammu and Kashmir defeated Uttarakhand by nine wickets.

Electing to bat, Nagaland were bowled out for 145 in 48.5 overs. Wicket-keeper Chetan Bist (47 off 89) top-scored for the North-Eastern side, while Shrikant Munde (24) and Joshua Ozukum (20) also got starts before gifting their wickets.

Spin duo of Mayank Markande (3/20) and Abhishek Sharma (3/31) shared six wickets between them, while off-spinner Gaurav Chaudhary (2/31) also chipped in with scalps.

Chasing, Anmolpreet Singh made 65 off balls, while Anmol Malhotra scored unbeaten 35 as Punjab overwhelmed the target in 29.3 overs.

Rongsen Jonathan (3/44) was the pick of the bowlers for Nagaland.

In the other match of the group D at the Wankhede Stadium, Uttarakhand rode on Priyanshu Khanduri's 97, Swapnil Singh's 61 and Dikshanshu Negi's unbeaten 52 to post 251 for five after being sent into bat.

Right-arm pacer Auqib Nabi (3/48) shone bright with the ball for Jammu and Kashmir.

It was a cakewalk for Jammu and Kashmir while chasing as Vivrant Sharma hit an unbeaten 154 off 124 balls while Shubham Khajuria made 71 to overhaul the target in 42.2 overs.

In another Group D match at the D Y Patil Satdium in Navi Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh defeated Baroda by a massive 290 runs.

Brief Scores: Nagaland 145 all out in 48.5 overs (Chetan Bist 47 not out; Mayank Markande 3/20, Abhishek Sharma 3/31) vs Punjab 146 for 4 in 29.3 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 65; Rongsen Jonathan 3/44).

Uttarakhand: 251 for 6 in 50 overs (Priyanshu Khanduri 97, Swapnil Singh 61, Dikshanshu Negi 52; Auqib Nabi 3/48) vs Jammu and Kashmir 257 for 1 in 42.2 overs (Vivrant Sharma 154 not out, Shubham Khajuria 71).

Madhya Pradesh 349 for 7 in 50 overs (Shubham Sharma 88, Himanshu Mantri 60; Lukman Meriwala 2/61) vs Baroda 59 all out in 17.1 overs (Aditya Waghmode 9; Avesh Khan 6/37). 

Assam, Karnataka qualify for Vizay Hazare knock-outs from Group B

Assam and Karnataka qualified for the knock-out stage of the Vizay Hazare Trophy from Group B after winning their respective matches in Kolkata.

Both ended on 24 points with identical six wins and a loss but Karnataka topped group on better net run rate of 1.721 as against 1.360 of Assam.

Assam beat Delhi by 25 runs in their last group match to notch up their fifth win on the trot.

Invited to bat, Assam were all out for 250 in 49.4 overs with Rishav Das remaining not out on 93 (92 balls; 11x4s, 2x6s) while Rahul Hazarika contributed 61.

For Delhi, Nitish Rana was the most successful bowler with figures of 3/33 while Pradeep Sangwan took two wickets.

Assam bowlers then produced a clinical display to bowl Delhi out for 225 in 49 overs. Mukhtar Hussain, Sunil Lachit, Rajjakuddin Ahmed and Riyan Parag took two wickets apiece.

Himmat Singh top-scored for Delhi with 84 while captain Nitish Rana contributed 34.

In another match here, Karnataka thrashed Rajasthan by 60 runs.

Asked to bat, Karnataka made 208 all out in 48.4 overs with Nikin Jose and Shreyas Gopal scoring 67 and 57 respectively.

Aniket Choudhary and Sahil Dhiwan grabbed three wickets apiece while Shubham Sharma took two wickets.

Rajasthan suffered a batting collapse as they were all out for 148 in 41.1 overs. All the Rajasthan batters struggled with Yash Kothari top-scoring with 49 runs from 81 balls.

Ronit More and Krishnappa Gowtham ran through the middle and lower order of Rajasthan batting line-up with three wickets each.

Brief Scores: Assam: 250 all out in 49.4 overs (Rishav Das 93 not out, Rahul Hazarika 61; Nitish Rana 3/33) beat Delhi 225 all out in 49 overs (Himmat Singh 84; Mukhtar Hussain 2/22) by 25 runs.

Karnataka: 208 all out in 48.4 overs (Nikin Jose 67, Shreyas Gopal 57; Aniket Choudhary 3/28, Sahil Dhiwan 3/30) beat Rajasthan 148 all out in 41.1 overs (Yash Kothari 49; Ronit More 3/35, Krishnappa Gowtham 3/36) by 50 runs. 

TN, Kerala qualify for knockout from Group C

Tamil Nadu and Kerala qualified for the knockout phase of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament after their Group C matches in Bengaluru were washed out.

Sent in to bat by Tamil Nadu captain B Indrajith, Kerala made 287 for 8 in 50 overs, thanks to a 95-run knock by Vathsal Govind (126 balls, 6 fours) and useful contributions from Vishnu Vinod (45), Abdul Basith (41) and Rohan Kunnumal (39).

Openers P Rahul (16) and Rohan Kunnummal (39) provided a rapid start for Kerala, taking the score to 44 in 5.3 overs before the former fell to M Mohammed (2/51).

Vathsal Govind joined Rohan and added 34 runs before the latter was castled by R Sai Kishore (1/46).

Though skipper Sachin Baby fell after making only 4, Vishnu Vinod (45) and Vatshal Govind were involved in a 78-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Handy knocks by Abdul Basith (41, 35 balls, 2 fours, 3 sixes) and a four-ball 15 (2 fours, 1 six) by Nedumanuzkhy Basil (41) towards the end boosted Kerala's score to 287.

When Tamil Nadu began their chase, all eyes were on the record-breaking pair of N Jagadeesan and B Sai Sudharsan.

However, Sudharsan fell to Vaisakh Chandran for 5.

Jagadeesn, fresh after a world record 277 in the previous game against Arunachal Pradesh was on 23 (21 balls, 3 fours) with the score on 43 for 1 (7 overs) when rain halted proceedings and forced the game to be called off.

Jagadeesan and Sudharsan had put on 416 for the opening wicket on Wednesday for a new List A record.

Tamil Nadu with five wins from seven games and two no-results topped the group with 24 points while Kerala finished second with 20 (4 wins, 1 loss and 2 no-results).

Andhra's defeat to Chhattisgarh in the final game on Wednesday hurt their chances of advancing to the next phase and they finished with 18 points.

As the group topper, Tamil Nadu secured a berth in the quarterfinals while Kerala would play the pre-quarterfinals.

Brief scores: Kerala 287 for 8 in 50 overs (Vathsal Govind 95, Vishnu Vinod 45, Abdul Bazith 41, Rohan Kunnummal 39) vs Tamil Nadu (revised target 276 in 47 overs) 43 for 1 in 7 overs (N Jagadeesan 23 not out ). No result. TN: 2 points, Kerala: 2 points.

Goa 261 for 9 in 50 overs (Snehal Kauthankar 104 (115 balls, 9X4 3X6), Ishaan Gadekar 47, Suyash S Prabhudessai 30, Siddhesh Lad 24, Rahul Tewatia 3/62) tied with Haryana 154 for 5 in 23 overs (CK Bishnoi 47, Kapil Hooda 31 not out, S Lad 2/33). Goa: 2 points, Haryana: 2.

Andhra 144 all out in 42.3 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 50, Abhishek Reddy 29, Sumit Ruikar 4/23, Shubam Agarwal 3/50) lost to Chhattisgarh 147 for 2 in 26.3 overs (Harpreet Singh Bhatia 65 not out (54 balls, 7X4 , 2X6), Amandeep Khare 35 not out) by eight wickets. Chhattisgarh: 4 points, Andhra: 0.

Arunachal 179 all out in 48.4 overs (Amresh Rohit 51, Kamsha Yangfo 51, Chetan Anand 34, Ashutosh Aman 3/19, Sachin Kumar 3/26, Veer Pratap Singh 3/39) vs Bihar 56 for 2 in 13.5 overs (Shishir Saket 31). Rain stopped play. No result. Arunachal: 2 points, Bihar: 0.