Big-hitting batsmen Virender Sehwag and Yusuf Pathan continued to play a vital role in their respective teams’ victories on the penultimate day of the BCCI T20 League. Gautam Gambhir, Wriddhiman Saha and Murali Vijay were among others to pile on runs for their state sides. Rishi Dhawan once again put forth an all-round performance for Himachal. Here are the highlights of the day:
Central Zone
MPCA vs Vidarbha: S Baig and Ishwar Pandey helped restrict Vidarbha to 124 for eight to bowl their team to a 13-run win. Baig took three wickets, while Pandey picked two while defending 137 runs. Jatin Saxena's 45 had helped MP to 137 for nine earlier in the match.
Rajasthan vs Railways: With a four-wicket haul, Aniket Choudhary helped bowl Rajasthan to a seven-run win in Nagpur. Panjak Singh and Deepak Chahar claimed two wickets each, while G Singh chipped in with one wicket to bowl Railways out for 168 after posting 175 runs on the board. Rajesh Bishnoi’s 58, in addition to contributions from the top order, helped Rajasthan to a competitive total after they were asked to bat first.
North Zone
Punjab vs SSCB: Harbhajan Singh's 78 and H Chawla's half-century helped Punjab to 154 for six after opting to bat first against SSCB. RP Sharma then claimed four-wickets, while Gurinder Singh and Mandeep Singh took one wicket each to restrict Services to 145 for nine and claim a nine-run win in Mohali.
Delhi vs Haryana: Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag’s run-fest powered Delhi to a nine-wicket with 15 balls to spare. While Gambhir remained unbeaten on 75, Sehwag missed out on his half-century by one run. Earlier, after opting to bat first, Haryana posted 140 for seven, courtesy A Barot’s 51 and GA Singh’s 64. Meanwhile, rest of the batsmen got out for single-digit scores. Ishant Sharma claimed four for nine as Delhi restricted the opposition to a modest total.
Himachal vs J&K: Bowlers helped Himachal to a 17-run victory over J&K while defending a modest total. Propelled by Rishi Dhawan’s 44 at the top of the order, Himachal had posted 127 for eight after they were asked to bat first. Vikramjeet Malik then sent back both J&K openers to leave the opposition on 30 for two and triggering a collapse. Bipul Sharma then claimed ID Singh for a duck, while Akshay Chauhan wrecked the middle order to finish with four wickets to his name. Dhawan then wrapped up the tail to bowl J&K out for 110 with three balls to spare.
South Zone
Goa vs Karnataka: Goa marched to a thumping 108-run win over Karnataka in the ongoing Twenty20 League. After posting 174 on the board, Goa bundled out the touted Karnataka batting line-up for 66 in 13.2 overs. H Gadekar set the tone of the match by sending back Robith Uthappa, while G Gawas followed up with the wicket of Manish Pandey, leaving Karnataka on five for two. While Karun Nair top-scored for Karnataka with 21, R Smarath was the only other batsman to reach double-digit scores. The rest of the line-up succumbed to the Goa without much resistance. D Misal took three, while Gadekar and A Yadav picked two wickets each. Gawas, S A Badiuzzmama and A Desai chipped in with a wicket each as Goa wrapped up the opposition innings. Earlier, the in-form Goa openers - Sagun Kamat (95) and Swapnil Asnodkar (51) - set up the game for Goa with a 145-run partnership.
Andhra vs Hyderabad: After D Shivkumar and B Sudhakar ran through the Hyderabad line-up and bowled them out for 76, Andhra cantered to an eight-wicket win. Shivkumar claimed four scalps, Sudhakar picked three wickets, while D Swaroop Kumar took two and K Harish picked one to bundle Hyderabad out after opting to field first. DB Prasanth and NJ Sai Krishna made 33 runs each to take Andhra to the target.
Kerala vs Tamil Nadu: Kerala pulled off a two-wicket win with four balls to spare while chasing the 157-run target. Earlier, upon opting to bat first, Murali Vijay's 87 helped TN to 156 for four. Although Kerala were then reduced to 23 for three, Rohan Prem's 45 and Jafar Jamal's 41, along with P Prasanth's 18, took the team across the line.
West Zone
Saurashtra vs Gujarat: Beaten by Gujarat, Saurashtra exited the tournament without a win under their belt. After posting 150 for four, Gujarat bowled Saurashra out for 88 to claim a 62-run win. Rohit Dahiya claimed four wickets, while R Bhat and A Patel picked two wickets each. Meanwhile, K Thakore and Jasprit Bumrah took one wicket apiece to wrap up the Saurashtra innings with 10 balls to spare. Earlier, Venugopal Rao set up the match in Gujarat's favour with a 61 not-out.
Baroda vs Maharashtra: Table toppers of the West Zone T20 League, Baroda, coasted to a six-wicket win after restricting Maharashtra to 139 for seven in their last game of the league. Yusuf Pathan took his team to yet another thumping victory with a 24-ball 57. With Rakesh Solanki, he smothered the Maharashtra attack in a 73-run partnership as they chased down the target with 15 balls to spare.
East Zone
Bengal vs Tripura: Electing to bat first, Bengal were propelled to 196 for five by Wriddhiman Saha (71). The nine-bowler Bengal attack then kept Tripura down to 124 for eight to bag a 72-run victory in the zonal T20 encounter. Ashoke Dinda, who claimed two wickets, got the ball rolling by leaving Tripura on seven for two in the third over. The rest of the attack then chipped in to bowl the team to a comprehensive win.
Jharkhand vs Odisha: Odisha picked four points for their four-wicket win over Jharkhand in their East Zone match in Kolkata. After electing to bat first, Odisha prodded to 119 for eight at Eden Gardens. Paresh Patel then claimed three for 22 as Odisha held Jharkhand to 115 for six in the low-scoring encounter.
