Aziz and Debnath guide Assam to quarters

Half-centuries by Pritam Debnath and Parvez Aziz helped Assam coast to a seven-wicket win over Railways in Indore. Chasing 156, Debnath and Aziz added 135 for the opening wicket to set up the win. Debnath scored 55 off 48 balls before he fell in the 16th over while Aziz top scored with 75, off 51 balls. Earlier, the Assam seam-bowling trio made early inroads, reducing Railways to 62 for 5. But a 73-run stand for the sixth wicket between Shreyas Khanolkar and Dhiran Salvi pushed Railways to a respectable score. Salvi remained unbeaten on 60, off 31 balls while Khanolkar fell three short of his fifty. In the end, the score of 155 wasn't adequate as Assam coasted home. They will play Delhi in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

Himachal Pradesh 159 for 7 (Dogra 41, Dhawan 49, Krishanatry 4-31) beat Jharkhand 148 for 4 (Rajiv 49*) by 11 runs
Scorecard

A pair of forties by Rishi Dhawan and Hemant Dogra and a combined bowling effort helped Himachal Pradesh beat Jharkhand by 11 runs in the first preliminary quarter-final in Indore. Chasing 160, Jharkhand kept enough wickets in hand but couldn't go past the finish line. After being put into bat, Dogra and Dhawan added 44 for the third wicket, before Dhawan and Vineet Indulkar added another 48 for the fourth. Yaju Krishanatry, the right-arm seamer, was the most effective bowler with 4 for 31. Jharkhand went at six an over in the first ten overs but couldn't keep with the required rate. Rajiv Kumar and Shiv Gautam came together at the 17th over needing a further 55, but they fell short by 11 runs. Himachal will play Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals on Sunday.