Nazir four-for helps J&K defend 127
A round-up of North Zone matches in the Inter State T20 tournament on January 31, 2017
ESPNcricinfo staff
31-Jan-2017
File photo - Harbhajan Singh was economical with the ball, conceding 13 in four overs, but his team could only muster 101 in a chase of 128 • AFP
Jammu & Kashmir seamer Umar Nazir's 4 for 15 helped his side to a 26-run win over Punjab as they defended a total of 127 in Dharamsala. Nazir, along with his new-ball partner Ram Dayal (3-18), took four wickets inside four overs to wreck Punjab and leave them at 26 for 4. They were eventually bowled out for 101. Earlier, an unbeaten 47-ball 52 from Pranav Gupta helped J&K tide over a batting slump and post 127 for 7. The team had been struggling at 58 for 5 in the 11th over before Gupta pulled them past 100. Offspinner Nikhil Chaudhary took 3 for 36 for Punjab. This was J&K's first win of the tournament.
A late surge from Himachal Pradesh in the slog overs, crafted by Rishi Dhawan and Bipul Sharma, and a four-for from medium-pacer Pankaj Jaiswal set the base for a 48-run win over Delhi in Nadaun. Put in to bat by Delhi, Himachal were struggling at 93 for 5 in the 15th over before Dhawan (37 not out off 18) and Bipul (32 not out off 19) smashed an unbroken stand of 70 for the sixth wicket in 34 balls to lift them to 163 for 5. Between them, the pair hit a total of nine fours and three sixes. Delhi's innings was once again marred by a top-order slump - they were struggling at 28 for 5 by the fifth over. The lower order, led by contributions from Milind Kumar (31) and Pradeep Sangwan (24) helped take the score past 100, as Delhi finished at 115 for 9. Jaiswal accounted for Gautam Gambhir in his 4 for 22 and also struck twice in the 18th over to ascertain Himachal's win.
In Dharamsala, Haryana completed a 17-run win after Rahul Tewatia struck 40 runs off 17 balls with five sixes to take his team to 166 for 7. In response, Services opener Rahul Singh (38) and Amit Pachhara (37*) played useful hands but economical spells from seamer Mohit Sharma (1-23) and offspinner Jayant Yadav (1-21) meant Haryana's target was out of their reach. Their victory did not seem entirely likely when Haryana were 95 for 5 in the 15th over, with medium pacer Nishan Singh taking three wickets. But Tewatia led a phenomenal charge in the slog overs, as he helped his team rack up 72 runs off the final 33 runs.