Vijay Hazare Trophy: Venkatesh stars in MP win; Jonty's ton, Sangwan's five-for help Delhi beat Haryana

Promising all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer continued his sensational form with both bat and ball as Madhya Pradesh pipped Chandigarh by five runs in a high-scoring group D thriller of the Vijay Hazare Trophy National One-dayers on Sunday. Venkatesh, who is seen as a India prospect to fill in the Hardik Pandya slot across white-ball formats, blazed his way to a 113-ball 151 (8x4, 10x6) to power Madhya Pradesh to a challenging 331/9. Chandigarh responded in style with centuries from skipper Manan Vohra (105) and Ankit Kaushik (111) and needed 32 runs from the last 12 balls. Bowling the penultimate over, Venkatesh gave another breakthrough dismissing Gurinder Singh en route to his 2/64 from 10 overs that included a maiden as Chandigarh could only manage 326/8. Madhya Pradesh young gun Avesh Khan led the bowling show with 3/72, while Puneet Datey also chipped in with two wickets along with Venkatesh. The win helped Madhya Pradesh (+0.590) remain at second place behind Kerala (+0.778) who nosed ahead in group D table with a five-wicket win over Chhattisgarh. Maharashtra (+0.074) slipped to third place despite their four-wicket win over Uttarakhand as it’s a three-way race for the knockouts from the group of death – D – with one match left in the league. Opting to bat at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here, Madhya Pradesh were down in the dumps losing opener Kuldeep Gehi (0) and Rajat Patidar (2) cheaply and were reduced to 56/4 inside 14 overs. Coming at No 6, Venkatesh soaked the pressure in company with skipper Aditya Shrivastava (70 off 80 balls; 4x4, 1x6), the duo stitching 122 runs for the fifth wicket to repair the early damage. Venkatesh displayed some clean hitting and reached his halfcentury in 45 balls and then stepped it up further to get to his third List A century, his second in three matches, in just 88 balls. He took just 22 balls to cruise to 150 and take Madhya Pradesh past the 300-mark. Venkatesh now has 348 runs from four innings at a strike-rate of 138.64 to be second behind Maharashtra ‘run machine’ Ruturaj Gaikwad in the most runs list of this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy. In the form of his life, Ruturaj, who has three centuries on the trot, saw law of averages catching up as he contributed only 21 in their chase of 252 against Uttarakhand at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground here. But it was Ankit Bawne who pulled off the win with a sublime unbeaten 113, steering them home in the penultimate delivery. Kerala gave a big boost to their net run-rate to brighten their qualifying hopes, beating Chhattisgarh by five wickets with 93 balls to spare. Sijomon Joseph was the chief architect of their big win as the left-arm spinner returned with a stunning 5/33 to floor Chhattisgarh to a paltry 189 in 46.2 overs after they opted to bat at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium “C”. In reply, Kerala suffered a triple blow midway into their chase when they lost opener Rohan Kunnummal (36), Mohammed Azharuddeen (45) and skipper Sanju Samson (0) without any addition to the total. There was more drama in store when they lost Sachin Baby (4) to be reduced to 89/4 but their No 3 Vinoop Manoharan held on with a composed 54 not out to seal the chase. Brief Scores Madhya Pradesh 331/9; 50 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 151, Aditya Shrivastava 70; Jagjit Singh 3/69, Sandeep Sharma 2/62) beat Chandigarh 326/8; 50 overs (Ankit Kaushik 111, Manan Vohra 105; Avesh Khan 3/72, Venkatesh 2/64, Puneet Datey 2/65) by five runs. Uttarakhand 251/6; 50 overs (Swapnil Singh 66, Tanush Gusain 55, Vaibhav Bhatt 41 not out; Jagdish Zope 2/45, Mukesh Choudhary 2/68) lost to Maharashtra 252/6; 49.5 overs (Ankit Bawne 113 not out, Naushad Shaikh 47) by four wickets. Chhattisgarh 189; 46.2 overs (Harpreet Singh 98; Sijomon Joseph 5/33, M D Nidheesh 2/21, Basil Thampi 2/38) lost to Kerala 193/5; 34.3 overs (Vinoop Manoharan 54 not out, Mohammed Azharuddeen 45; Ajay Mandal 3/27, Sumit Ruikar 2/63) by five wickets. *** Former India U-19 captain Jonty Sidhu hit a run-a-ball hundred while skipper Pardeep Sangwan grabbed a five wicket haul as Delhi beat Haryana by 10 runs in an exciting Group C league game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday. Delhi scored 267 for 5 in their 50 overs with left-handed Sidhu hitting eight fours and three sixes while adding 145 runs for the fifth wicket with former Delhi Capitals player Lalit Yadav (75 off 92 balls). In reply, Haryana were all out for 257 in exactly 50 overs with Shivam Chauhan, who scored a hundred (107 off 136 balls), and Pramod Chandila (78) adding 166 runs for the fourth wicket. Haryana were cruising along at 236 for 3 before Sangwan (5/52) and Mayank Yadav (3/61) removed the last seven wickets for 21 runs. Earlier, Sidhu and Lalit Yadav came together after Delhi were tottering at 47 for 4 in 17 overs having lost Shikhar Dhawan (18 off 42 balls), Vaibhav Kandpal (0), Himmat Singh (1) and Khsitiz Sharma (17 off 39 balls). The Sidhu-Yadav duo not only resurrected the innings but also took it closer to 200 before Yadav was out. However, credit for Delhi’s total reaching a semblance of respectability would go to keeper Anuj Rawat who hammered five sixes to score 44 not out off 16 balls. Yuzvendra Chahal, who is having a stellar tournament, ended with 3 for 43 in 10 overs. In another game of the same group, Saurashtra all-rounder Prerak Mankad (106 no off 72 balls) made a short work of a modest 212-run target set by Jharkhand, as his side crossed the line under 35 overs, losing only three wickets. The third game of the group saw Uttar Pradesh beat Hyderabad by seven wickets. Hyderabad were all out for 149 with pacer Yash Dayal taking 5 for 31. In reply, UP overhauled the target in 26 overs with Karan Sharma scoring 44. Brief Scores: Delhi 267/5 (Jonty Sidhu 100 not out, Lalit Yadav 75, Anuj Rawat 44) beat Haryana 257 (Shivam Chauhan 107, Pramod Chandila 78, Pradeep Sangwan 5/52) by 10 runs. Jharkhand 211 (Utkarsh Singh 55, Chetan Sakariya 2/51) lost to Saurashtra 212/3 (Prerak Mankad 106 not out) by 7 wickets. Hyderabad 149 (Yash Dayal 5/31) lost to UP 150/3 in 26 overs (Karan Sharma scoring 44) by 7 wickets. *** Unfancied Pondicherry pulled off an upset one-run win over Tamil Nadu in a Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group B match on Sunday, while Karnataka beat Baroda for their third victory. Chasing a revised target of 206 in 44 overs under VJD method, Tamil Nadu ended at 204 for 9 despite enterprising half-centuries by skipper N Jagadeesan (64) and Dinesh Karthik (65) and fell agonizingly short by 1 run. Defending champions Mumbai lost to Bengal by 67 runs via the VJD method used for domestic matches and face an early elimination from the tournament. The team led by Shams Mulani has only one win after four matches and is virtually out of contention for the next phase. In another match, Karnataka beat Baroda by six wickets (VJD method) to make it three wins from four matches and improve their chances of securing a berth in the knockout phase. In the Bengal vs Mumbai match, the former had piled up 318 for 7 in 50 overs, thanks to enterprising tons by Anustup Majumdar (110, 122 balls, 14x4) and Shahbaz Ahmed (106, 97 balls, 8x4, 4x6) following which the Mumbai batters could not get going and fell well short of the target. India batter Suryakumar Yadav hit a breezy 49 (34 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) and Armaan Jaffer made 47 (69 balls, 4x4, 1x6) but their other team-mates could not make any significant contributions. Mumbai finished at 223 for 8 in 41 overs when rain halted play and ended their hopes. In another match, Baroda were dismissed for 176 in 48.3 overs by Karnataka with V Koushik and K C Cariappa picking up three wickets each. R Samarth (35) and K V Siddharth (46 not out) took Karnataka home for their third win to go with a loss to Tamil Nadu earlier. Karnataka join Tamil Nadu on 12 points with three victories. Brief Scores: Bengal 318 for 7 in 50 overs (Anustup Majumdar 110, Shahbaz Ahmed 106, Mohit Avasthi 4/63) beat Mumbai 223 for 8 in 41 overs (Surya Kumar Yadav 49, Armaan Jaffer 47, Shams Mulani 36, Pradipta Pramanik 3/33) by 67 runs (VJD method). Bengal: 4 points, Mumbai: 0. Pondicherry 225 for 9 in 49 overs (Fabid Ahmed 87 not out, Washington Sundar 5/48) beat Tamil Nadu 204 for 9 in 44 overs (Dinesh Karthik 65. N Jagadeesan 64, Fabid Ahmed 2/22, Bharat Bhusan Sharma 2/33) by one run (VJD method). Pondicherry: 4 points, TN: 0. Baroda 176 all out in 48.3 overs (Bhanu Pania 40, Kedar Devdhar 31, K C Cariappa 3/28, Vasuki Koushik 3/38) lost to Karnataka 150 for 4 in 38.4 overs (KV Siddharth 46 not out, R Samarth 35) by 6 wickets (VJD method). Karnataka: 4 points, Baroda: 0. *** Opener Saurav Chauhan hit eight sixes in his 141 off 121 balls while keeper Het Patel struck an unbeaten 109 as Gujarat beat Vidarbha by 46 runs in a high-scoring Group A league match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday. Batting first, Gujarat scored a mammoth 363 for 6 in 50 overs with former Delhi Capitals player Ripal Patel hitting two sixes in his 15-ball 25 towards the end. Chauhan and Patel added 118 runs for the third wicket as the opener also hit nine fours. Patel, on his part, hit 12 fours and two sixes. Pacer Darshan Nalkande went for 92 runs in his 10 overs. In reply, Vidarbha could manage only 317 in 48.3 overs with veteran Ganesh Sathish smashing 110 off 78 balls. Pacer Chintan Gaja got three for 49 while spinner Siddharth Desai also took three wickets. In another match, India’s reserve keeper Srikar Bharat smashed 161 off 109 balls with 16 fours and eight sixes as Andhra scored 322 for 4 against Himachal Pradesh, who ended their innings at 292. Bharat and opener Ashwin Hebbar (100 off 132 balls) added 174 runs for the second wicket while veteran Ambati Rayudu hit 34 off 14 balls towards the end to take the total past 320-run mark. In reply, Himachal Pradesh batters couldn’t capitalise on their starts save skipper Rishi Dhawan, who scored 79 off 61 balls. Pacer Girinath Reddy took 4 for 52. In another game of the group, Jammu and Kashmir beat Odisha by 95 runs. Brief Scores: Gujarat 363/6 in 50 overs (Saurav Chauhan 161, Het Patel 109 not out, Darshan Nalkande 2/92) beat Vidarbha 317 in 48.3 overs (Ganesh Sathish 110, Chintan Gaja 3/49) by 46 runs. Andhra 322/4 (Srikar Bharat 161, Ashwin Hebbar 100) beat Himachal Pradesh 292 (Rishi Dhawan 79, Girinah Reddy 4/52) by 30 runs. Jammu and Kashmir 278/9 (Henan Nazir 79, Biplab Samantray 2/15) beat Odisha 183 (Abhishek Raut 40, Mujtaba Yousuf 2/34) by 95 runs. *** Tripura crushed Nagaland by 10 wickets in a Vijay Hazare Plate group match for their fourth straight win in the national one-day tournament here on Sunday, while Meghalaya held off Mizoram’s spirited challenge to record their fourth victory in as many matches. The experienced M Murasingh was the star performer for Tripura as his five-wicket haul helped them bundle out Nagaland for 48 in 14 overs. Tripura knocked off the required runs in 10.1 overs to improve their net run-rate to 2.739 which is ahead of Meghalaya’s 1.475. Meghalaya skipper and wicketkeeper Punit Bisht cracked a brilliant 142 (129 balls, 20 fours and 1 six) to help his side make 237 in 49 overs against Mizoram. In reply, Mizoram captain and wicketkeeper Uday Kaul waged a lone battle with a knock of 109 (123 balls, 10 fours, 1 six) but that wasn’t enough to see his side across the line as they fell short by 19 runs. Meghalaya and Tripura will face off on Tuesday to decide the team that will advance to the next stage. Brief Scores: Nagaland 48 all out in 14 overs (M Murasingh 5/19) lost to Tripura 50 for no loss in 10.1 overs (Samrat Singha 32 not out) by 10 wickets. Tripura: 4 points, Nagaland: 0. Meghalaya 237 all out in 49 overs (Punit Bisht 142, D Ravi Teja 42, Taruwar Kohli 4/37) beat Mizoram 218 for 7 in 50 overs (Uday Kaul 109 by 19 runs. Meghalaya: 4 points, Mizoram: 0. Arunachal Pradesh 116 all out in 45 overs (Nazeeb Saiyed 47, Akhilesh Sahani 26 not out, Bishworjit Konthoujam 5/11) lost to Manipur 117 for 2 in 23.4 overs (Johnson Singh 39 not out) by eight wickets. Manipur: 4 points, Arunachal: 0. Sikkim 193 for 9 in 50 overs (Liyan Khan 31, Palzor Tamang 31, Ashutosh Aman 4/37, Shashi Shekhar 2/29) lost to Bihar 194 for 3 in 36.5 overs (Bipin Saurabh 92 not out, Mahrour 49) by seven wickets. Bihar: 4 points, Sikkim: 0. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram