New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) Defending champions Jharkhand began their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title defence on Saturday with a six-wicket win over Mizoram, while Saurashtra, Andhra and Gujarat also registered victories on day one of the league stage.
At Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Jharkhand needed just 8.3 overs to complete a chase of 77. Jharkhand’s bowlers, led by Harsh Raj’s 3-16, were disciplined in bundling out Mizoram for 76. Chinmay Sutar, who had a prolific first half of the Ranji Trophy season, including hitting an unbeaten 400 against Nagaland, made only 19 off 15 balls.
For Mizoram, there was nowhere to hide once their innings folded at a modest total. Utkarsh Singh made 45 not out off 26 balls, laced with five fours and three sixes, as Jharkhand wrapped up the chase despite losing four batters.
At the Holkar Stadium in Indore, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s first match as Bihar’s captain ended in defeat. Saurashtra, playing in their Elite Group B game, chased down 138 with 21 balls to spare, winning by five wickets.
Bihar, who chose to bat after winning the toss, finished on 137/9. Prithvi Raj top-scored with 38 off 27 deliveries, hitting four sixes, while Altamish contributed 24. Sooryavanshi, who was the centrepiece of attention of the sparse crowd in the stadium, made a 12-ball 18 before being dismissed caught and bowled by left-arm seamer Chetan Sakariya.
For Saurashtra, Sakariya returned with 3-33 in his four overs, while Prerak Mankad was even tighter, finishing with 3-20. Skipper Jaydev Unadkat and Krains Fuletra each picked up a wicket. Harvansh Singh set the tone for Saurashtra’s chase with 33 off just 11 balls, studded with three fours and three sixes, while Harvik Desai made 21.
Ruchit Ahir and Sidhant Rana remained unbeaten on 21 each as the target was reached in 16.3 overs. Suraj Kashyap was the best bowler for Bihar with 3-39, while Sakariya was adjudged Player of the Match. It was a forgettable start to the captaincy stint for Sooryavanshi, who is also slated to join the India A team for the Rising Stars Men’s Asia Cup, to be played in Doha from November 19 to 29.
In an Elite Group C fixture in New Chandigarh, Andhra defeated Tripura by 43 runs. Batting first, Andhra could manage only 141/9 in their 20 overs, with SNDV Prasad hitting an unbeaten 33-ball fifty. But that proved to be enough as Tripura were dismissed for 98 in 17.2 overs.
Pacers Cheepurapalli Stephen and KV Sasikanth took three wickets each for Andhra, as Tripura’s batters fell without showing any fighting spirit and failed to bat out their full quota of overs.
At the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, riding a late surge from Ashutosh Sharma (20 not out off nine balls) and Vishal Jayswal (22 not out off eight balls), Gujarat posted 250/9, enough to secure a 21-run victory.
Skipper Urvil Patel hit a blistering 30-ball 62, including six fours and four sixes, while debutant spin-bowling all-rounder Khilan Patel, who was a member of the India team that won this year’s Men’s U-19 World Cup, smashed a fluent 84 off just 29 balls, including six fours and eight sixes.
For Odisha, Lalit Yadav and Debabrata Pradhan starred with the ball, each scalping three wickets. Despite a 49-ball 87 from Subhranshu Senapati and Kartik Biswal’s 32-ball 55, Odisha fell short of the target, finishing at 229/8. Left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla picked 4-50, while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi took 2-37 in his four overs.
–IANS
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