Sood stars in Delhi's second win

Delhi cantered to their second successive win in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, comfortably overhauling Jammu & Kashmir's total with six wickets in hand. Opting to bowl, Delhi's bowlers made their mark early in the match by getting rid of the J&K openers within the first three overs. Left-arm spinner Varun Sood then aggravated J&K's problems by picking up two wickets in the ninth over and the rest of the batting line-up, apart from a fighting 38-ball 44 from Parvez Rasool, caved in to finish at 119 for 8. Sood, with three wickets for 14, was the best bowler.

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir could not repeat their first match heroics, both falling to Abid Nabi, but Unmukt Chand scored a composed 41-ball 39 to anchor the chase. Rajat Bhatia added an unbeaten 16-ball 28 to complete the chase with an over to spare.

A five-wicket haul by the right-arm seamer Ashish Hooda helped Haryana to their second win, beating Services by eight runs in Mohali. Chasing 145, Services began well with their openers Yashpal Singh and Nakul Verma adding 60. Hooda got rid of the top three in quick succession and it triggered a collapse. Soumya Swain remained unbeaten on 32 but lacked support as Services batted out 20 overs and could only manage 136. Hooda finished with his best T20 figures of 5 for 22. The win was set up by Avi Barot, who carried his bat for 78. Barot stabilized the innings after they were 55 for 4. Most of the bowlers chipped in with a wicket each, with Rajat Paliwal taking 2 for 28.

Punjab bounced back from their defeat to Haryana with a five-wicket victory over Himachal, which was completed in the final over thanks to Manpreet Gony's 17-ball 35. The win was a team effort, with four batsmen reaching 24 but none crossing 35, and with four bowlers taking a wicket apiece. Himachal opener Prashant Chopra bludgeoned a 54-ball 90 to set up a total of 154, a target Punjab chased down with three balls to spare. If Gony's quick 35 provided the finishing touches, it was Manan Vohra's quick 35 that provided the early impetus. Harbhajan Singh struck three fours and two sixes after being promoted to No. 3, and also helped Punjab maintain a punishing pace early on.

After two rounds, Delhi and Haryana have two wins, Services and Punjab have a win and a loss each, while Himachal and J&K have lost both their matches.