Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant struck contrasting fifties before Gujarat collapsed in the closing stages, as Delhi claimed a narrow seven-run victory in their Elite Group D encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) Ground in Bengaluru on Friday.
Delhi’s Batting Performance
Kohli’s aggressive 77 off 61 balls and Pant’s measured 70 off 79 deliveries lifted Delhi to 254/9 in 50 overs. Despite being well-positioned at 213/5, Gujarat faltered in the final stages, bowled out for 247 in 47.4 overs.
Kohli showcased his trademark fluency after the early dismissal of opener Priyansh Arya. He raced to his half-century off just 29 balls, hitting 10 fours and a six before being dismissed by left-arm spinner Vishal Jayswal for 77. Pant, the captain of Delhi, anchored the middle order with a display of both restraint and aggression. His partnership of 73 runs with Harsh Tyagi (40) proved crucial before Jayswal claimed his fourth wicket, finishing with figures of 4-42.
Gujarat’s Chase
Gujarat appeared comfortable in their chase, aided by solid partnerships—67 between Urvil Patel (31) and Aarya Desai (57), followed by 54 runs between Aarya and Abhishek Desai. However, a middle-order collapse saw Gujarat lose four wickets for just 23 runs. Saurabh Chauhan (49 off 43) and Jayswal managed to add 69 for the sixth wicket to keep the chase alive, but Simarjeet Singh’s dismissal of Chauhan triggered yet another collapse.
With 12 runs needed off 17 balls and one wicket remaining, Prince Yadav (3-37) dismissed Ravi Bishnoi with a sharp delivery, caught by Kohli, sealing a thrilling victory for Delhi.
Rajesh Mohanty’s Historic Hat-trick
Meanwhile, Odisha pacer Rajesh Mohanty made history, becoming the first player from his state to claim a hat-trick in List A cricket as his side comfortably defeated Services by four wickets at Alur Cricket Stadium III. Mohanty first dismissed opener Sagar Dahiya and then trapped Amit Shukla and Ravi Chauhan lbw in consecutive deliveries, reducing Services to 21/3. He finished with figures of 4-25, as Services were bowled out for 83 in 21.5 overs, which Odisha chased down effortlessly.
Brief Scores:
- Delhi: 254/9 in 50 overs (Virat Kohli 77, Rishabh Pant 70; Vishal Jayswal 4/42) beat Gujarat 247 all out in 47.4 overs (Aarya Desai 57, Saurabh Chauhan 49; Prince Yadav 3-37, Ishant Sharma 2-28) by seven runs.
- Services: 83 all out in 21.5 overs (Rajesh Mohanty 4-25, Sambit Baral 4-21) lost to Odisha 84/6 in 24.3 overs (Sandeep Pattnaik 32 not out) by four wickets.
- Railways: 266/9 in 50 overs (Ravi Singh 76, Ansh Yadav 59; Satyanarayana Raju 3-41, Narasimha Raju 3-68) lost to Andhra 271/4 in 44.4 overs (Ricky Bhui 76, Nitish Kumar Reddy 55 not out; Karn Sharma 3-46) by six wickets.
- Saurashtra: 253 all out in 50 overs (Harvik Desai 101, Sammar Gajjar 83; Anshul Kamboj 3-30) lost to Haryana 256/4 in 39 overs (Yashvardhan Dalal 164 not out, Parth Vats 67; Ankur Panwar 3-51) by six wickets.