Gujarat clinch run-fest for third win

Three-wicket hauls from Robin D'Souza and Harshad Hanumant Gadekar sent Tamil Nadu crashing to their second big defeat in two days, as Goa cruised to a six-wicket victory at the Gymkana Ground in Hyderabad and in the process boosted their chances of making the playoffs. Batting first, Tamil Nadu failed to string together any significant partnership, as their progress was dented by wickets at regular intervals. R Sathish, coming in at No.7, was their top scorer with 67, but no other batsman managed more than 29, and Tamil Nadu were bundled out for 182 in 49.2 overs.

The Goa openers Amogh Sunil Desai and Swapnil Asnodkar began the chase brightly, as both players raised half-centuries during a 146-run stand. Desai struck nine fours during his 68, while Asnodkar's 77 included 10 fours and two sixes. Goa went on to lose four wickets in quick succession, but by then the job was virtually done, and the team got home with more than 16 overs to spare.

An inspired batting display from Karnataka's top order saw them chase down 296 against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The five-wicket victory was Karnataka's fourth straight in the competition, and sealed their place in the playoffs. Needing almost six an over right from the off, Karnataka began the chase brightly as Mayank Agarwal (70) put up an opening stand of 112 in 18.4 overs with KL Rahul (53), who celebrated his maiden India call-up with a second consecutive half-century. Both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, but Shishir Bhavane and Manish Pandey kept the required rate in check with a 93-run partnership. Manish's 56 was his fourth straight 50-plus score, but he eventually fell for 56 in the 37th over, with Karnataka still needing another 76. Bhavane, however, remained unbeaten on 81, with four fours and two sixes, to take the team home with two overs to spare.

It meant that Tanmay Agarwal's 123-ball 136 earlier in the day for Hyderabad was in vain. Tanmay slammed 13 fours and four sixes, and shared a 149-run association with Hanuma Vihari, who hit 82. Ashish Reddy then blasted 51 off 35 balls to leave Hyderabad poised for a total in excess of 300, but three wickets in the final over from S Aravind kept them to 295 for 7.

A four-for from Cheepurapalli Stephen and a 65 from Srikar Bharat were the cornerstones behind Andhra's six-wicket win against Kerala in Secunderabad; a result which means Kerala are out of the reckoning for a spot in the playoffs. Batting first, Kerala were restricted to 202 for 9 from their 50 overs, with the captain Sachin Baby top-scoring with an unbeaten 64. Vishnu Vinod and Amit Verma chipped in with thirties, but their inability to convert their starts to big scores led to a below-par total. Stephen took 4 for 46, while Bandaru Ayyapa and Duvvarapu Shivkumar shared four wickets between them. Andhra had little trouble hunting down such a paltry total. They lost four wickets along the way, but Bharat's half-century and Ricky Bhui's unbeaten 48, which featured four sixes, ensured the total was chased down in 43 overs.

More than 600 runs were hit in Ahmedabad, with Gujarat prevailing by 83 runs against Saurashtra to clinch their third consecutive win. Smit Patel was the vital cog behind the win, stroking a 147-ball 146 to power Gujarat to 348, before a three-for from Rush Kalaria helped restrict Saurashtra to 265 for 8.

Having been inserted, Gujarat began brightly with a 143-run opening stand between Smit and Priyank Kirit Panchal, who scored 74. Both batsmen fell in quick succession, but Venugopal Rao slammed 64 off 41 deliveries to provide a late surge. Sheldon Jackson led Saurashtra's chase with 81, but lacked partners at the other end who could stay long enough to forge a threatening stand. The likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Divyaraj Chauhan chipped in with thirties, but regular blows from Kalaria, Ishwar Chaudhary and Hardik Patel ensured that Saurashtra were kept in check.

A 104-run partnership between Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan sealed Baroda's first win of the competition, against Maharashtra in Ahmedabad. Chasing 244, Baroda lost Aditya Waghmode early, but Hooda led a recovery by adding 64 for the second wicket with Saurabh Wakaskar, before combining with Pathan for a match-winning association. Hooda fell for 88 in the 32nd over, having struck six fours and five sixes, but Pathan remained unbeaten on 82 to guide the team home with 25 deliveries remaining.

The result overshadowed an unbeaten century from Ankit Bawne, which had earlier propelled Maharashtra to 243. Bawne and Rohit Motwani (40) shared a 91-run, third-wicket stand, but with no other batsman contributing more than 22, the team was dismissed in 49.4 overs. Pathan, Hooda and Krunal Pandya snared two wickets apiece.

A day after being left out of the Indian ODI squad, Wriddhiman Saha slammed 84 off 69 balls as Bengal ran up 310 for 3 against Jharkhand in Kolkata. Laxmi Shukla was even more destructive, hammering 71 off 41, before Ashok Dinda took 5 for 29 to complete a thumping 163-run victory. Saha and Shukla were involved in an unbroken 141-run partnership at around 10 an over as Bengal accelerated towards the end of the innings. Opener Arindam Das (74) and Manoj Tiwary (43) had set the stage for the late burst. Jharkhand's chase never got going, as Dinda struck four times in the first nine overs to leave them at 35 for 5. The victory means Bengal have won both their matches so far to go top of the East Zone table.

In a thrilling game in Kalyani, Odisha hung on for a three-run victory over Tripura, who lost their third game in a row. Batting first Odisha reached a reasonable 123 for 3, driven by No. 4 Anurag Sarangi's 68. His wicket though sparked a collapse as six wickets went down for 31 runs, leaving Odisha at 154 for 9. The innings was extended by a cameo from No. 10 Suryakant Pradhan, who hit three sixes in a 25-ball 31. Faced with a target of 196, Tripura's chase seemed on course as they reached 109 for 3, but over the next 10 overs, they slid to 160 for 8. No. 8 Sanjay Majumder hit an unbeaten 33 off 22 to take Odisha to 192 before the innings folded. The chase featured an amazing six run-outs, the joint most in a List-A match.

Ravi Thakur's four-wicket haul set up Vidarbha's four-wicket VJD win in a rain-affected clash against Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur, keeping them on course to secure a berth in the playoffs. Madhya Pradesh, opting to bat, were struggling at 46 for 4 before Jalaj Saxena (71), who had earlier left the field with an injury, added 76 for the fifth wicket with Anand Bais. However, Bais' dismissal in the 33rd over meant that Madhya Pradesh slipped from 122 for 5 to 193 all out. Thakur collected 4 for 43, while Swapnil Bandiwar claimed 2 for 27.

Set a revised target of 164 from 39 overs, Vidarbha began well with a 62-run opening stand between Faiz Fazal and Jitesh Sharma (43). Three wickets apiece from Ankit Sharma and Jatin Saxena had the team precariously placed at 135 for 6, but Urvesh Patel and Shrikant Wagh got the team home with an over to spare.