Bangar leads Railways to victory

Sanjay Bangar lead Railways to a 36-run win against Madhya Pradesh at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore. He top-scored with 60 (78 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes) after G Shankara Rao (42) and Amit Pagnis (50) gave the team a sound start in the form of a 95-run opening partnership. In response Madhya Pradesh could only muster 222, with Naman Ojha racking up 69 at the top of the innings.

Alind Naidu's knock of 114 went in vain as Vidarbha slumped to a 10-run loss against Uttar Pradesh. After winning the toss and choosing to bat Uttar Pradesh reached 240 before being bowled out in 49.3 overs. Rohit Prakash and Jai P Yadav did the bulk of the scoring with half-centuries apiece. When Vidarbha began their chase, it was a one-man show as Naidu (114, 151 balls, 12 fours) battled to take his team past to the target. Naidu received no support, with the next highest score being 34, and when he was dismissed with the score on 224, the game was up for Vidarbha.

Madhya Pradesh 249 for 2 (Abbas 125*, Ojha 93) beat Vidarbha 248 for 9 (Fazal 100, Khare 53)
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Syed Abbas Ali stroked a superb hundred and his 223-run stand with Naman Ojha steered Madhya Pradesh to a comfortable victory over Vidarbha in the Ranji one-day tournament in Indore. Ali smashed 11 fours in his unbeaten knock while Ojha fell for a well-made 93 when only 13 more were needed. Earlier, Faiz Fazal had boosted Vidarbha to a competetive total with an exact hundred. Sanjay Pandey was the pick of the MP bowlers with 4 for 41.

Uttar Pradesh 245 for 6 (Yadav 83, Kaif 75) beat Railways 244 for 7 (Yadav 57) by 1 run
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It was rivetting stuff. Uttar Pradesh, seemingly crippled at 3 for 3, fought back and posted a total that proved to be only a run beyond Railways. The architects of this resistance were Jyoti Yadav and Mohammad Kaif, who put up 147 together after Harvinder Singh and Jai Prakash Yadav upended three batsmen. Jyoti Yadav hit 83, including eight fours, and Kaif, captaining the side, was run out for 75. After their departure, late hitting by Parvinder Singh (43 not out) took the team to 245 for 6.

When Railways came out to bat, Amit Pagnis's and Shankara Rao's approach suggested Railways would clinch victory in a canter. They put on 81 by the 13th over, and even after both were dismissed (90 for 2), Jai Prakash Yadav scored 57 and found good support. But when he fell, at 188, the innings fell away with him. Jyoti Yadav picked two wickets and denied the late-order batsmen runs when they made one last attempt at the target of 246.

Madhya Pradesh 220 for 4 (Paul 113*, Ojha 50) beat Rajasthan 216 for 9 (Sharma 71) by 6 wickets
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Madhya Pradesh romped to a victory by six wickets over Rajasthan, who had struggled to 216 for 9. They went past the target due to Amit Paul's unbeaten 113, and his stand of 120 with Naman Ojha, who scored 50. However, MP had to deal with a minor collapse, where they lost four wickets for nine runs, but Paul and Amay Khurasiya steadied the innings and took them home. Rajesh Sharma top-scored for Rajasthan with a boundary-studded 71 off 74 balls. While a few others got starts, none went much further.

Railways 302 for 4 (Pagnis 115, Ali 91*) beat Vidarbha 230 for 7 (Paradkar 55*) by 72 runs
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Vidarbha, who had lorded over Rajasthan the previous day, were overpowered by Railways by a margin of 72 runs. Amit Pagnis led the way with a run-a-ball 115, and he put up 137 with Raja Ali, who remained unbeaten on 91. Railways steamed to 302 for 4, the highest total in two days, and then restricted Vidarbha to 230.

Ranjit Paradkar once again had the highest score for Vidarbha, remaining unbeaten on 55. Once again he held the innings together, but retired hurt on 114 for 4. The batsmen who followed lashed out for quick runs, but Railways' bowlers held sway, and weren't going to let up. Kulamani Parida ended with 3 for 30.

Uttar Pradesh 255 (Raina 89*) beat Rajasthan 194 (Jhalani 50) by 61 runs
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Suresh Raina turned on the heat with an unbeaten 80-ball 89, which led Uttar Pradesh to victory over Rajasthan by 61 runs. Raina, the highest scorer by a long way, powered the team to 255. Mathur's figures survived the aggression, and he ended with 3 for 33 in eight overs.

Rajasthan's top order then batted themselves into a good position, but none, barring Rohit Jhalani with 50, could convert their starts. As a result the innings fell away and was aborted at 194. Mohammad Kaif tried out eight bowlers, including himself, but the batsmen could not use this to their advantage.

Vidarbha 246 (Khare 58, Dave 4-41) beat Rajasthan 183 for 8 (Chawaria 59) by 63 runs
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Vidarbha powered to a 63-run victory over Rajasthan in Indore after being bowled out for 246. Rajasthan's top order fell quickly in pursuit of the target, and though the later batsmen built partnerships, the early loss of wickets meant they were always playing catch-up. They could only manage 183 for 8 in their 50 overs, with Vinod Chawaria top-scoring with 59 off 111 balls.

Unlike Rajasthan, Vidarbha's total was built around contributions from the top order. After losing a wicket off the first ball, the batsmen consolidated. A stand worth 80 runs followed, and then Samir Khare and Ranjit Paradkar put on 93 runs. Khare top-scored with 58 off 66, and later finished with 2 for 28. Wickets fell in a spurt after Khare's dismissal, but runs also came quickly. Only Anup Dave, with 4 for 41 in ten overs, managed to restrain the batsmen.

Uttar Pradesh 218 for 9 (Kaif 53, Pandey 4-38) beat Madhya Pradesh 185 (Ali 53) by 33 runs
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Uttar Pradesh beat Madhya Pradesh by 33 runs after posting a modest total at Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore. Mohammad Kaif led the way for UP with 53, and found support from Amir Khan, who scored 40. Another 40, off Praveen Kumar's bat, helped the team to 218. Sanjay Pandey, who had reduced them to 7 for 2, had 4 for 38.

Madhya Pradesh were in trouble soon. They lost their first wicket at 31, and lost their fourth only four runs later. These four wickets, which fell in the space of 11 balls, hampered their chase, and though Abbas Ali led from the front with an attacking 53, and the lower order resisted valiantly, they were bowled out for 185 in little more than 41 overs.