With a comprehensive win in a low-scoring match against Goa, Himachal Pradesh claimed the pole position in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015-16, Group D points table. Uttar Pradesh, who beat Saurashtra in the only other match that was played on Wednesday, are now at No. 2 in the table on the basis of Net Run Rate.
Highlights of the day:
Group D
Uttar Pradesh vs Saurashtra: Sau 189/10 (C Pujara 41, P Chawala 3/53, P Kumar 2/20, C Kumar 2/41) lost to UP 190/5 (S Chaubey 85*, E Dwivedi 38, DA Jadeja 2/37) by 5 wickets
After Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar left Saurashtra reeling at seven for three, Saurashtra faced an uphill task before some contribution from the lower order helped them to 189. The senior pacer claimed both the openers while Bhuvneshwar sent back the captain, Jaydev Shah. Cheteshwar Pujara (41), the top-scorer for the team was the next to be sent back with score on 82. The spinners - Piyush Chawla (3/53), Kuldeep Yadav (2/41) and Suresh Raina (1/22) picked timely wickets to keep UP in ahead.
In reply, UP lost five wickets as spinners continued to dominate, but debutant Shubham Chaubey took the team to the target with an unbeaten 85-run (off 125 balls) knock.
Himachal vs Goa: Goa 184/10 (S Kamat 57, N Gangta 2/13, P Jaswal 3/26, B Sharma 2/38, RK Singh 2/40) lost to UP 187/3 (P Chopra 67, P Gogra 34, S Jakati 3/33) by 7 wickets
Bipul Sharma set the ball rolling for HP by ending the opening stand between Sagun Kamat and Swapnil Asnodar for 62. After 46 runs, the left-arm spinner claimed Keenan Vaz to leave Goa at 108 for two. The Kamat-led side was unable to build partnerships as the Himachal bowlers continued to pick wickets at regular intervals. After Rishi Dhawan sent back the opener, the middle-order batsmen - Reagan Pinto and S Bandekar - were sent back by Rahul Singh. P Jaswal then helped bowl Goa out for 184 by claiming three wickets.
Chasing a low total, Prashant Chopra paved the way for HP. After the opener departed for 67 runs, Paras Dogra (34*) and Rishi Dhawan (31*) helped the team to victory.
Follow the stars:
Ravindra Jadeja scored nine runs and picked up the wicket of UP opener Umang Sharma.
Suresh Raina scored just 18 in UP’s chase. Earlier, he accounted for Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.
