Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018: Nitish Rana smashes 91 as Delhi beat Hyderabad by six wickets

New Delhi: Left-handed batsman Nitish Rana smashed an unbeaten 91 off 87 balls as Delhi notched up their second successive win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Hyderabad by six wickets on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_5235881” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Getty Images[/caption] Hyderabad were dismissed for 205 in 47.4 overs with left-arm spinner Manan Sharma taking four for 42. Due to a brief spell of showers, Delhi had a revised target of 176 in 39 overs but they surpassed it in only 30.4 overs. Rana, who was unwell during the Saurashtra game, came back with a bang, hitting 12 boundaries and two huge sixes in the group B match. Skipper Gautam Gambhir was once again solid at the top of the order, scoring 41 off 47 balls with six boundaries. However, it was Rana, who stole the show with his shots square of the wicket. A pulled six off Chama Milind behind square was a treat to watch. He was equally dominant against the spinners, cutting anything wide with ferocity. Mohammed Siraj’s pace was also used to guide it behind the square. The match ended when Himmat Singh hit spinner Mehidy Hasan for a straight six. From Delhi’s point of view, the only disappointment was Unmukt Chand (0), who looked completely out of sorts as he was bowled off the second delivery by Ravi Kiran. Earlier, when Hyderabad batted, it was the burly Manan, who choked the run flow in the middle overs by bowling flat and on the stumps, to return with four wickets. Opening bowlers Navdeep Saini (2/45 in 10 overs) and Simarjeet Singh (1/21 in 7 overs) also bowled tight lines during the first spell as Hyderabad could never force the pace. It was Siraj’s cameo (36 off 24 balls), with two sixes, that helped them cross 200. In the day’s other group B matches, Chhattisgarh beat Uttar Pradesh by four wickets, while Kerala defeated Odisha by six wickets. Brief scores: Hyderabad: 205 all out in 47.4 overs (B Sandeep 51, Manan Sharma 4/42). Delhi: (Revised 176 in 39 overs) (Nitish Rana 91 no off 87 balls, Gautam Gambhir 41 off 47 balls).