Pathan blitz gives Baroda easy win

Gujarat were able to chase Saurashtra's 269 through a collective batting performance from their top-order. Saurashtra were put in to bat and their wicketkeeper opener Sheldon Jackson scored 109. Contributions from Rahul Dave (36), Chirag Jani (31) and Kuldeep Raval's quick fire 30 off 18 balls, helped them put up a sizable score, as they finished 269 for 6.

Gujarat started assuredly, with openers Priyank Panchal and wicketkeeper captain Parthiv Patel putting up 136 runs for the first wicket. From there a platform was set and Manprit Juneja chipped in with a vital 66. Abdulahad Malik and Juneja steered the team within a few runs of the target before Juneja fell to Saurya Sanandiya. Gujarat won the match with six wickets in hand, in the 47th over.

A belligerent 86 not out by Yusuf Pathan, with a combined effort by the bowlers, helped Baroda to a four-wicket win against Maharashtra at the Poona Club Ground. Chasing 178, Baroda were in trouble at 34 for 3 in the 11th over, when Pathan came in to bat. Within the next 61 balls, Baroda added 70 runs via Pathan and Ambati Rayudu, who scored 40. Pathan stuck till the end, hitting six sixes in his 55-ball knock, to see his side home in the 29th over.

Maharashtra's innings was based on short but significant knocks by their middle-order batsmen. After being put in to bat, they lost wickets regularly to struggle to 113 for 7 in the 36th over, before Shrikant Mundhe and Akshay Darekar rescued them by adding 58 runs. But this contribution wasn't enough as they were bundled out for 177.

Half-centuries from Rohan Prem and Sanju Samson helped Kerala to a six-wicket victory against Goa in Porvorim. Kerala were comfortable in their chase of 223, through a strong top-order batting performance. After opener VA Jagadeesh fell in the seventh over, Karimuttathu Rakesh and Prem added 54 runs, before Samson and Prem put on a century stand that virtually sealed the contest.

Goa steadily lost wickets after choosing to bat. Their captain and opener Sagun Kamat attempted to anchor the innings, but departed after scoring 71. Towards the latter stages of the innings, Robin d'Souza scored 50 off 42 deliveries to push them beyond 200.

Karnataka squeezed home by one wicket against Andhra, with only two balls remaining in the match. After Andhra were put into bat, AG Pradeep (55), Amol Muzumdar (39) and B Sumanth (39) led them to 228 before they were dismissed in 48 overs. Vinay Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 38.

Robin Uthappa continued his good form with another fifty, with fellow opener Lokesh Rahul contributing 75. Despite the rest of the Karnataka middle order getting starts, no one was able to push on, with Bodavarapu Sudhakar taking some vital wickets to temper the chase. Ultimately Raju Bhatkal and KP Appanna held their nerve, taking Karnataka to yet another win as they continued their unbeaten streak in the competition.

A responsible knock from Dinesh Karthik helped Tamil Nadu beat Hyderabad by 26 runs. Karthik scored a run-a-ball 119, as he put on 108 runs for the third wicket with B Aparajith, who scored 51. Tamil Nadu looked set for a big total before Chama Milind struck twice to help stop the run flow towards the end of the innings. Tamil Nadu ended up with 262 for 9 after fifty overs.

Hyderabad started their chase strongly before opener Kolla Sumanth was run out, to leave them at 82 for 1. This was the first of three run-outs in the innings, which hampered Hyderabad's chase. Dwaraka Ravi Teja (43), Bavanaka Sandeep (42) and Sundeep Rajan (52) all got starts, but couldn't continue on to take their team home. P Amarnath took three wickets at the end to help dismiss Hyderabad for 236.

An attacking century from opener Puneet Yadav propelled Rajasthan to a commanding victory over Railways, by seven wickets, in Indore. Yadav, with a 117-ball 123 - his highest List A score - put on 112 runs with fellow opener Siddharth Saraf, and 98 runs with captain Robin Bist, to help them reach their target of 232 in the 44th over.

Railways' top order was also productive, but at 215 for 6, they couldn't accelerate towards the end of the innings, as their last six wickets fell for just 18 runs added. Mahesh Rawat, their captain, top-scored with 81. Seamer Raman Chahar and spinner Madhur Khatri took three wickets each.

A five-wicket haul from Jatin Saxena gave Madhya Pradesh a 68-run victory against Vidarbha. After MP chose to bat, seamer Shrikant Wagh, who finished with six wickets, struck early to dismiss both their openers with just 37 on the board. Saxena (61) and Naman Ojha then put together a 136-run partnership for the third wicket to help stabilise the innings. Ojha would finish on 83, with Harpreet Singh contributing an aggressive 39. Wagh returned to pick off three more wickets near the end to leave MP on 263 for 8.

In Vidarbha's chase, legspinner Saxena was instrumental in keeping Vidarbha's chase under control. Akshay Kolhar (45), Shalabh Shrivastava (33) and Akshay Wadkar (35) were unable to build on their respective starts as Vidarbha were ultimately dismissed for 195 in 47.1 overs.

The win gave them top spot in the points table.