Delhi sneak through on a wet day
Delhi and Services picked up two points after the game in Dharmasala was abandoned due to heavy rain
Cricinfo staff
10-Jan-2005
January 17
Delhi and Services picked up two points after the game in Dharmasala was abandoned due to heavy rain. Delhi were locked on 15 points with Himachal Pradesh but qualified for the knock-out stage due to their superior net run-rate.
Himachal Pradesh narrowly missed out due to heavy rains washing out the game between them and Punjab at the HPCA Stadium in Dharmasala. Himachal picked up two points from the abandoned game and reached 15 but Delhi, who were equal on points with them, qualified because of their superior net run-rate. Punjab had no such worries and comfortably topped the group.
Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir shared two points apiece after their game at Nadaun was abandoned without a ball being bowled. It didn't affect either team as both had no chance of qualifying for the knock-out round.
January 15
Delhi 201 for 4 (Dhawan 100*) beat Haryana 197 for 7 by 6 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Shikhar Dhawan's unbeaten 100 paved the way for Delhi to coast to a six-wicket win against Haryana at Dharamsala. Haryana chose to bat after winning the toss but managed only 197 for 7. Delhi slipped to 72 for 3 in reply, but a 108-run stand between Ajay Jadeja (48) and Dhawan ensured that the final lap was covered easily.
Punjab 175 for 3 (Sodhi 60*) beat Services 171 (Sodhi 4-33) by 7 wickets
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Scorecard
A superb allround performance from Reetinder Sodhi was the highlight as Punjab consolidated their position at the top of the table with a seven-wicket against Services at Una. Sodhi took 4 for 33 to help bundle out Services for 171, and then, opening the innings, anchored the run-chase with an unbeaten 60 as Punjab took home a bonus point as well. The win took Punjab to 19 points, six clear of second-placed Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.
Himachal Pradesh 168 beat Jammu & Kashmir 140 by 28 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Himachal Pradesh eked out a 28-run win in a low-scoring match against Jammu and Kashmir at Nadaun. After being put in to bat, HP were bundled out for 168, with no-one scoring more than Sangram Singh's 38. However, the J&K batsmen were in greater strife - their highest scorer was Kavaljit Singh, who made 30.
January 13
Delhi 266 for 4 (Dhawan 131*, Gupta 76) beat Himachal Pradesh 159 (Bhandari 5-36) by 107 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Shikar Dhawan produced a superb century before Amit Bhandari ran through the Himachal Pradesh batting line-up to give Delhi a crushing victory in the league phase of the North zone Ranji one-day tournament in Nadaun. Dhawan, who smashed 12 fours and a six in his 148-ball knock, shared a vital 176-run union with Rajan Gupta as they laid a solid base in the middle overs. Himachal were never in the contest while chasing 267 and struggled against Amit Bhandari, who ended with 5 for 36.
Sudhakar Ghag and Fazil Mohammad helped Services defend a modest total and record a comfortable 43-run win over Haryana at Una. Ghag and Fazil, the opening bowers, reduced Haryana to 15 for 4 and despite a middle-order revival, they folded for only 164. Yashpal Singh had top-scored for Services earlier in the day and taken them past the 200-mark.
Yuvraj Singh and Reetinder Sodhi cracked half-centuries and propelled Punjab to an easy eight-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir at Dharmasala. Yuvraj and Sodhi added 131 in quick time and helped Punjab race to the target and snap up a bonus point as well. The Punjab bowlers had earlier set up the victory with some tight spells and Gagandeep Singh was the pick of the lot with 3 for 12 in his 10 overs.
January 11
Punjab 225 for 9 (Ricky 124*) beat Delhi 159 by 66 runs
Scorecards
Scorecards
Ravneet Ricky's fine 124 gave Punjab a competetive total before Gagandeep Singh sealed the victory with a four-wicket burst in the Ranji one-day tournament at Dharmasala. Ricky smashed nine fours and four sixes in his 153-ball knock and held the innings together despite losing partners at regular intervals. He was unbeaten at the end as Punjab ended on 225 for 9. Gagandeep, who was recently in the Indian Test squad on the Bangladesh tour, then got stuck into the Delhi top order and reduced them to 42 for 4 within the first 15 overs. Delhi didn't recover after the jolt and Punjab wrapped up the easy win by 66 runs and gained a bonus point to boot.
Himachal Pradesh prevailed in a low-scoring battle against Haryana in the Ranji one-day tournament at Nadaun. The Himachal bowlers justified their captain's decision to field first and struck at regular intervals. Anju Thakur, the legspinner, ran through the middle order with 4 for 15 and was well supported by the medium pace of Sangram Singh (3 for 16). None of the Haryana batsmen crossed 20 and it was mainly owing to the extras that they reached 86. Himachal went after the target at a rapid pace and despite losing wickets in the process wrapped up the win, with the bonus point, in 16.4 overs.
Services 260 for 7 (Yashpal 88, Narender 76) beat Jammu & Kashmir 196 (Mahajan 80) by 64 runs
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Scorecard
Half-centuries from the two Singhs - Yashpal and Narender - boosted Services to 260 and helped them post a convincing win over Jammu & Kashmir in the Ranji one-day tournament at Una. Yashpal joined Narender with the side in a spot of trouble, at 10 for 2, but their 163-run stand set a solid platform for the late-innings assault. J&K then struggled against Sudhakar Ghag, the medium pacer, and his 4 for 21 helped Services seal a big win and claim a bonus point in the process. Dhruv Mahajan, the J&K captain, made a fighting 80 but it came when hopes of a win were rapidly vanishing.
January 9
Delhi 227 (Jadeja 109, Manhas 59, Abid Nabi 5-50) beat Jammu & Kashmir 149 by 78 runs
Scorecard
Delhi 227 (Jadeja 109, Manhas 59, Abid Nabi 5-50) beat Jammu & Kashmir 149 by 78 runs
Scorecard
Ajay Jadeja led from the front, scoring 109 from just 138 balls to steer Delhi to a comfortable 78-run win against Jammu and Kashmir in the first round of the Ranji one-day North Zone league. In a low-scoring game at Dharamsala, Delhi were propped up by a 127-run third-wicket stand between Jadeja and Mithun Manhas (59). None of the other batsmen contributed much, but the 227 that Delhi managed was more than sufficient against a weak J&K line-up, which only scored 149, and conceded a bonus point as well. Yogesh Sachdeva, a right-arm offspinner, cleaned up the top order with four wickets, while Amit Bhadari removed the tail to finish with 3 for 26.
Punjab 240 for 9 (Ricky 96*) beat Haryana 238 for 9 (Bist 70) by 1 wicket
Scorecard
Scorecard
A superb unbeaten 96 from Ravneet Ricky allowed Punjab to snatch a one-wicket win over Haryana with just three balls to spare at the Indira Gandhi stadium in Una. Set to score 239 to win, Punjab had stumbled to 53 for 3 when Ricky walked in. Three more wickets went down quickly, but Ricky added 75 with Harbhajan Singh (37) to steady the innings. Punjab needed five more when the ninth wicket fell, but Ricky and Vikram Singh saw the team through. Earlier, Bagheshwar Bist, Haryana's opener, top-scored for his side with 70.
Himachal Pradesh 165 for 3 (Bisla 60*) beat Services 164 (Malik 4-35) by 7 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Himachal Pradesh romped to an easy seven-wicket win against Services in Nadaun. After skittling Services out for 164, HP cruised to the target with more than 12 overs to spare to get a bonus point as well. Vikramjeet Malik, a right-arm seamer, took four wickets and justified HP's decision to field first after winning the toss. Services then took a wicket with the first ball, but Manvinder Bisla remained unbeaten on 60 to ensure that HP won without too many hiccups.