Vijay Hazare Trophy: Vidarbha, Karnataka secure victories over Railways, Himachal Pradesh in rain-truncated matches

Alur: In rain-truncated Elite Group A matches of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vidarbha defeated Railways by 15 runs while Karnataka went past Himachal Pradesh by 35 runs, both via the VJD method. Put into bat by Vidarbha, Railways were restricted to a modest 226/8 in their 50 overs with their number 10 Madhur Khatri top-scoring with 58. Railways skipper Saurabh Wakaskar, who opened the innings, scored a patient 57, but was devoid of partners at the other end. [caption id=“attachment_5131811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Manish Rao, who came in at number 4, made 30, but failed to convert it to a big score. The other Railways batsmen had a bad time at the crease as they fell cheaply. But it was Khatri who made a quick fire 58 in 43 balls which helped his side breach the 225-run mark. For Vidarbha, Darshan Nalkande returned with fine figures of 3-42. Vidarbha were cruising towards the target and were 176/3 in 37 overs when rain stopped the play and eventually they were declared winners. For Vidarbha, Ganesh Satish (53 not out) and Akshay Wadkar (49 not out) made notable contributions with the bat. With this win, Vidarbha have managed to grab four crucial points. In the other rain-affected match, Karnataka defeated Himachal Pradesh by 35 runs via the VJD method at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to snatch four points. After putting a strong 257/8 in 38 overs, Karnataka bundled out Himachal Pradesh for paltry 162 with K Gowtham (4-26) and Pradeep T (4-35) sharing the spoils. For Karnataka, opener R Samarth top-scored with 98 and skipper Manish Pandey chipped in with a 43-run knock. Meanwhile, the match between arch-rivals Mumbai and Maharashtra, to be held at Just Cricket ground in Bengaluru, was declared abandoned due to rains. Despite the wash-out, Mumbai are in the hunt to make it to the quarter-finals, as the Vinayak Samant coached team hasn’t lost any game in the tournament. Brief Scores: Railways 226/8 in 50 overs (Madhur Khatri 58, Saurabh Wakaskar 57, Darshan Nalkande 3-41) lost to Vidarbha 176/3 (Ganesh Satish 53 not out, Akshay Wadkar 49 not out, Manish Rao 1-25) by 15 runs via VJD method. At Bengaluru: Karnataka 257/8 in 38 overs (R Samarth 98, Manish Pandey 43, Rishi Dhawan 3-57) defeat Himachal Pradesh 162 all out in 25.3 overs (Prashant Chopra 67, K Gowtham 4-26, Pradeep T 4-35).