Dhawan, Jaiswal take Himachal into the knockouts
A round-up of all the Group D matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 18, 2015
ESPNcricinfo staff
18-Dec-2015
Rishi Dhawan's century in a must-win game helped Himachal Pradesh somewhat overcome the disappointment of not qualifying for the Ranji Trophy knockouts • Getty Images
Rishi Dhawan's maiden List-A ton, followed by a six-wicket haul from Pankaj Jaiswal helped Himachal Pradesh beat Madhya Pradesh by 41 runs in Rajkot to qualify for the knockout stages.
HP, after being inserted, rode on a 143-run stand for the fourth wicket between Robin Bist and Dhawan. Bist was eventually run out for 84, but Dhawan carried on and remained unbeaten on 117 off 88 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes. Their efforts ensured HP posted a sizable total of 295 for 5.
Plenty of MP batsmen made starts in their chase, but only Venkatesh Iyer could compile a much-needed half-century, as the team struggled for meaningful partnerships. Jaiswal ended with a career-best 6 for 33, as MP were dismissed for 254 in 46.1 overs.
Samarth Vyas made 94 on List A debut to help Saurashtra beat Bengal by six wickets, but it wasn't enough to help them qualify for the knockouts as Himachal Pradesh.
Bengal's batsmen were guilty of frittering away starts - as many as three of them got out in the 40s- as they posted 243 for 5. Abhimanyu Easwaran top scored with 48, while Dharmendra Jadeja did bulk of the damage, finishing with 3 for 46 off 10 overs. Saurashtra's chase was driven forward by Vyas, who put on a 136-run opening stand with Sheldon Jackson (50), before Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 50 steered them home with four overs to spare.
