India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant delivered an impressive performance, scoring an unbeaten 67 off 37 balls, to guide Delhi to a convincing eight-wicket victory over Services in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy match at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2.
Match Highlights
Captain Pant’s explosive innings featured four boundaries and six sixes on a day when national selectors were set to announce India’s squad for the upcoming three-game ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 11 in Vadodara.
Delhi’s bowlers laid a strong foundation for the win by restricting Services to 178 runs in 42.5 overs. Harshit Rana excelled with the ball, returning figures of 4-47, while Prince Yadav contributed significantly with 3-28. In response, Delhi chased down the target with ease in just 19.4 overs. Left-handed opener Priyansh Arya played a pivotal role with a knock of 72 not out off 45 balls, including nine fours and three sixes.
Despite early losses of Sarthak Ranjan (4) and Nitish Rana (32), Arya and Pant formed a match-winning partnership of 85 runs off 51 balls, sealing Delhi’s dominant win. Pulkit Narang and Nitin Yadav each claimed a wicket for Services but could not contain the run flow.
Punjab’s Dominance
In another match, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh achieved his third five-wicket haul in List A cricket as Punjab obliterated Sikkim by 10 wickets at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur. Arshdeep’s exceptional performance yielded figures of 5-34 as Sikkim was bowled out for a mere 75 runs in 22.2 overs.
Punjab elected to field first, a decision that paid immediate dividends, even though Shubman Gill was ruled out just before the match due to food poisoning. Sukhdeep Bajwa dismissed openers Amit Rajera and Ashish Thapa, paving the way for Arshdeep to dismantle the middle order. Leg-spinner Mayank Markande then cleaned up the tail.
The modest target posed no challenge for Punjab’s openers, who completed the chase in just 6.2 overs. Prabhsimran Singh starred with 53 runs off 26 balls, hitting seven fours and two sixes, while Harnoor Singh remained unbeaten on 21.
Brief Scores
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Services: 178 all out in 42.5 overs (Vikas Hathwala 26, Raj Bahadur Pal 25; Harshit Rana 4-47, Prince Yadav 3-28) lost to Delhi: 182/2 in 19.4 overs (Priyansh Arya 72, Rishabh Pant 67 not out; Pulkit Narang 1-34, Nitin Yadav 1-41) by eight wickets.
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Sikkim: 75 all out in 22.2 overs (Palzor 13; Arshdeep Singh 5-34) lost to Punjab: 81/0 in 6.2 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 53 not out, Harnoor Singh 22 not out) by ten wickets.