India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s inconsistent form, along with the failure of Delhi’s leading batters, led to their unbeaten run being halted by Odisha, who secured a significant 79-run victory in a fourth-round Group D match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday.
With the national selectors set to announce the squad for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand in the first week of January, Delhi skipper Pant was under the spotlight. However, the dynamic cricketer managed only 24 runs as Delhi’s batting crumbled, posting just 193 in 43.3 overs in pursuit of 272/8.
Pant, after previous scores of 5, 70, and 22, could only score 24 off 28 balls before being dismissed by pacer Debabrata Pradhan (3/28). Alongside Pradhan, young right-arm
pacer Sambit Baral (3/34) hastened Delhi’s collapse.
Delhi’s batters started poorly, losing openers Priyansh Arya and Sarthak Ranjan to single-digit scores, leaving them at 6 for 2. Pant’s dismissal left Delhi struggling at 50/3 in the 11th over, which quickly became 55/5. Despite the dire situation, Harsh Tyagi (43) and Hrithik Shokeen (32) delayed the inevitable with some resilient batting.
With this victory, Odisha ascended to the top of the table with 12 points and a healthy net run rate (NRR), while Delhi, despite having the same number of points, slipped to fourth position, with Railways and Haryana overtaking them on better NRR. It was also the first time this season that Delhi failed to surpass 200.
Karnataka Beat Puducherry
Karnataka continued their unbeaten run in the tournament, defeating Puducherry by 67 runs in a fourth-round Group A match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday.
Skipper Mayank Agarwal (132 off 124; 15x4s, 2x6s) and Devdutt Padikkal (113 off 116; 10x4s, 4x6s) scored fluent centuries, adding 228 runs in 37.5 overs for the opening stand, setting the foundation for a total of 363 for 4 after electing to bat.
Besides them, Karun Nair remained unbeaten on 62 off 34 balls, studded with four boundaries and as many sixes.
Chasing 363, Puducherry made a decent start with Neyan Shyam Kangayan (68 off 66) and wicketkeeper Ajay Rohera (32) stitching 78 runs for the opening stand. Jayant shone with a rearguard knock of 54 off 35 balls, while skipper Aman Khan made 34, but Puducherry were all out for 296 in 50 overs.
Opener Utkarsh Singh hit an unbeaten 123 off 120 balls, while right-arm fast bowler Shubham Kumar Singh took 4 for 53, as Jharkhand secured a commanding nine-wicket win over Tamil Nadu, rising to third position in the points table.
Electing to field, Jharkhand limited Tamil Nadu to 243 all out in 45 overs, thanks to Shubham’s efforts and Sushant Mishra’s 2/51.
Pradosh Ranjan Paul (49) and Baba Indrajith (48) were the main contributors for Tamil Nadu.
The chase was set up by a 201-run opening stand between Shikhar Mohan (90 off 108) and Utkarsh, as Jharkhand comfortably reached the target. Utkarsh hit 13 boundaries and three sixes in his innings, earning the man-of-the-match award. He also took a wicket with his off-break bowling.
MP beat Tripura by 4 wickets
All-rounder Venkatesh Iyer took 4 for 44 with his right-arm medium pace, and Yash Dubey scored 105 off 97 balls, as Madhya Pradesh secured an easy four-wicket win over Tripura, climbing to the top position in Group A.
Electing to bowl, Iyer received support from Kumar Kartikeya (2/56) to restrict Tripura to 286 for 7.
For Tripura, Vijay Shankar scored 91 off 98 balls with four boundaries, while Sridam Paul added 52.
Madhya Pradesh then relied on Dubey’s century and Shubham Sharma’s 75-ball 71 to chase down the target in 44 overs.
Kerala beat Rajasthan by 2 wickets
Baba Aparajith continued his fine form, scoring 126 off 116 balls with 12 boundaries and four sixes, helping Kerala beat Rajasthan by two wickets in a high-scoring contest.
Rajasthan posted 343 for seven, thanks to Karan Lamba’s unbeaten 119 off 131 balls, featuring six boundaries and four sixes, and Deepak Hooda’s 86 off 83 balls.
Right-arm medium pacer Sharafuddeen (3/55) was Kerala’s best bowler.
Kerala’s chase didn’t start well, losing skipper Rohan Kunnummal on the first delivery. However, Krishna Prasad (53) and Aparajith forged a 155-run stand for the second wicket, setting the platform for the win. Towards the end, Apple Tom (40 not out off 18) effectively used his long handle to guide Kerala home on the final delivery.
(With PTI Inputs)
