Hazare Trophy | Saurashtra wallops Gujarat to clinch quarterfinal berth

Saurashtra outclassed Gujarat by 145 runs here in the last Elite Group ‘D’ outing to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

The victory pushed Saurashtra (20 points) to second spot, behind topper Delhi (24 points).

Delhi took pole position in style, whipping Haryana by nine wickets at the BCCI CoE (3) ground. It was a meek surrender from Haryana (18 points), which needed a win to progress to the knockout rounds at the expense of Saurashtra. 

At the batting-friendly Alur (3) ground, Saurashtra made full use after being asked to bat first. Vishvaraj Jadeja (112, 103b, 9×4, 5×6) recorded his second century of the tournament, and put on a fine 150-run opening stand with Harvik Desai (82, 80b, 13×4, 1×6). 

Number three Prerak Mankad boosted the scoring rate with a 49-ball 86. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (52 n.o), playing his second match of the tournament, put on 95 runs for the fourth wicket alongside Chirag Jani (43, 27b, 3×4, 2×6).  

Saurashtra racked up 383 for four in its quota of overs. Gujarat started the chase well, but lost wickets in an effort to up the ante. Opener Urvil Patel chipped pacer Jani to mid-wicket, followed by Aarya Desai pulling a short ball from Ravindra to deep square-leg. 

The middle-order combination of Jaymeet Patel (30) and K. Patel (42) sought to steady the ship, but when both were dismissed in quick succession, Gujarat gave up the ghost.

Haryana entered the field as the second-placed side, but a batting collapse ruined the day. The Delhi fast bowling trio of Ishant Sharma, Prince Yadav and Navdeep Saini ran through the unit with three wickets apiece, as Haryana was bundled out for 105. 

Delhi crossed the finish line in 13.3 overs, sealing an impressive sixth win in seven matches.