Abhinav ton sinks Assam, Bista 92 trumps Yuvraj 93

Abhinav Mukund's ninth List-A hundred powered Tamil Nadu to a six-wicket victory against Assam in Hyderabad. Set 211 for the win, Tamil Nadu lost their opener Srikkanth Anirudha early, but Abhinav and Vijay Shankar led a counterattack. Shankar stroked a 53-ball 42, but was forced to retire hurt. M Vijay, though, ensured the team did not lose any momentum, providing Abhinav with crucial support. Abhinav hit a run-a-ball 104, and by the time he was caught behind off Gokul Sharma, Tamil Nadu had already all but sealed the win.

Earlier, R Ashwin continued his fine form from the recently-concluded South Africa Tests, picking up 3 for 31 to restrict Assam to 210. Jamaluddin Syed Mohammad top-scored with 59, but received little by way of support from his team-mates. J Kousik and M Mohammed chipped in with two scalps apiece.

Jay Bista made an 87-ball 92 to guide Mumbai to a five-wicket win over Punjab after Yuvraj Singh's 93 had set them a target of 255. Bista, the 19-year-old opener, fell eight short of a hundred on List A debut, after striking 12 fours and a six.

Mumbai were 26 for 2 after losing Akhil Herwadkar and Shreyas Iyer, before Bista combined with Suryakumar Yadav to put them back on track. Yadav retired hurt on 38, and Bista fell with 76 still to get, but Abhishek Nayar (44 not out) and Shashank Singh (39) took Mumbai home with 4.5 overs remaining. Siddarth Kaul picked up three wickets for Punjab, but was expensive, conceding 58 in his 10 overs.

Sent in to bat, Punjab lost Pargat Singh and Gitansh Khera cheaply, but Manan Vohra struck a 33-ball 35 at the other end to keep their momentum going. Yuvraj then took over, combining with Mandeep Singh (41), Gurkeerat Singh (20) and Mayank Sidana (21) while scoring a run-a-ball 93 with six fours and six sixes.

Starting with Yuvraj's dismissal, though, Punjab lost steam, slipping from 214 for 5 in the 43rd over to 254 all out with eleven balls still left to play. Dhawal Kulkarni and debutant medium-pacer Sagar Trivedi picked up three wickets each for Mumbai, while spinners Iqbal Abdulla and Bista took two wickets each.

Half-centuries from Nakul Verma and Yashpal Singh paved the way for Services' 63-run win against Rajasthan in Secunderabad. Services, after being inserted, were floundering at 52 for 3 before Yashpal (75) led a recovery by putting up 50-plus partnerships with Verma (68) and Suraj Yadav (44). Yashpal first added 83 for the fourth wicket with Verma, before combining with Suraj for a sixth-wicket association which yielded 59 runs; their efforts guided Services to 230 for 7. Nathu Singh was the pick of Rajasthan's bowlers, collecting 4 for 42.

Rajasthan were well-placed in their chase at 110 for 2, but the dismissal of their half-centurion Puneet Yadav triggered a collapse which led to the team losing their last eight wickets for just 57 runs. Suraj, Diwesh Pathania and Rajat Paliwal shared six wickets between them, as Rajasthan folded for 167 in 41.3 overs.