Services hold on for close win

A half-century from Nakul Verma helped Services to a two-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala. Verma's 54, which included eight fours, had Services well-placed at 114 for 4 during their chase of 182. However, the team nearly made a mess of the chase, losing four quick wickets to stumble to 162 for 8. Vikramjeet Malik (3 for 36) and Rahul Singh (3 for 27) picked up three wickets apiece to give Himachal a glimmer, but Services' captain Yashpal Singh scored a crucial 28 not out to guide his team home in 40 overs.

Himachal, having been inserted, were earlier bundled out for 181 in 45.2 overs. Prashant Chopra top-scored with 43, and while few other batsmen made starts, none were able to stay long enough to string together a significant partnership. Medium-pacer Narender Kumar was the pick of Services' bowlers, taking 3 for 38, while Suraj Yadav, Shadab Nazar and Avishek Sinha chipped in with two scalps apiece.

An unbeaten 71 from Sachin Rana helped helped Haryana gun down 253 against Punjab in Nadaun. Haryana's openers Avi Barot (53) and Sunny Singh (25) set the chase up with a 77-run opening stand, before Rana, coming in at No.4, took charge by collecting his fourth List-A fifty, which included seven fours. Punjab's bowlers kept chipping away at Haryana with wickets at regular intervals to take the match to the last over, but Rana's knock coupled with a 23-ball 32 from Jayant Yadav was enough to see the team home with five deliveries to spare.

Rana's innings trumped an equally important half-century from Mandeep Singh, whose 86 had powered Punjab to 252 for 8 in the first innings. Mandeep muscled six fours and a six during his 95-ball knock, before Taruwar Kohli struck a 39-ball 47 to provide a late surge. For Haryana, the medium-pacer Ashish Hooda claimed three wickets, while Harshal Patel took two.

A three-wicket haul from the seamer Samiullah Beigh, followed by a fifty from Parvez Rasool helped Jammu & Kashmir to a two-wicket win against Delhi at the Luhnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur. Chasing 213, J&K were struggling at 31 for 3 before Rasool and Hardeep Singh stabilised the innings with a 77-run stand for the fourth wicket. Rasool hit 12 fours to make his way to 74, but three wickets in the space of three overs threatened to derail their chase. However, Waseem Raza and Beigh's 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket helped seal victory with four balls left.

Beigh had earlier picked up 3 for 35 to wreck Delhi's top order and eventually restrict them to 212 for 8. Milind Kumar and Rajat Bhatia both stroked fifties and shared an 85-run association for the fifth wicket, but the team couldn't pick up the pace as all the J&K bowlers went at under five an over.