Varun's five-for in vain as Tomar's ton takes Rajasthan into quarterfinals

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy strengthened his case for selection in India's ODI squad by taking his second five-wicket haul in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but his performance could not prevent Rajasthan from eliminating Tamil Nadu in the pre-quarterfinal stage of the tournament.

While Varun finished as the top wicket-taker with 18 scalps in six matches, the knockout game's defining performance came from Rajasthan opener Abhijeet Tomar, whose 111 in the first innings set the foundation for a 19-run victory. They will play Vidarbha in the quarterfinal on January 12.

Rajasthan were on course for 300-plus after losing the toss, cruising at 182 for 1 in the 32nd over when Varun took three wickets in three overs to trigger a slide. He first bowled Mahipal Lomror for 60 with a wrong'un that drifted in, pitched and squared the left-hander to hit the top of off stump.

Having broken the 160-run stand between Tomar and Lomror, Varun then bowled Deepak Hooda with a carrom ball as he attempted a mow towards the leg side. His third wicket was the centurion Tomar, holing out to long-on for 111 off 125 balls. He picked up two more wickets to finish with 5 for 52 in nine overs.

Rajasthan lost nine wickets for 83 and were all out for 267 in 47.3 overs. Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore and seamer Sandeep Warrier picked up two wickets each.

Tamil Nadu responded with a rapid opening partnership of 60 in 6.5 overs before Khaleel Ahmed bowled the slower opener Tushar Raheja for 11 of 20 balls. N Jagadeesan raced to a half-century, hitting Aman Shekhawat for six fours in an over that included five wides to cost Rajasthan 29 runs. His dismissal for 65 off 52 balls, however, caused panic in Tamil Nadu's chase.

B Indrajith and Vijay Shankar kept the innings going and at the start of the 36th over, Tamil Nadu needed 83 runs with five wickets in hand. The run-out of S Mohammed Ali for a run-a-ball 34, however, swung the game Rajasthan's way.

Shekhawat, the fast bowler who had Indrajith caught behind, bowled Vijay Shankar for 49, and sealed the game by dismissing Varun for 18 in a close finish. He finished with 3 for 60 as Rajasthan, runners-up of the previous Vijay Hazare Trophy, entered the final eight by bowling Tamil Nadu out for 248 in 47.1 overs.