Mongia special downs HP as Punjab top league phase
A summary of the latest action in the Ranji Trophy One-Day Tournament
Cricinfo staff
19-Feb-2006
Dinesh Mongia starred with bat and ball as Punjab won the North Zone league phase in emphatic style, defeating Himachal Pradesh by eight wickets at Palam. Mongia claimed 5 for 44 to rout HP for 213 and then compiled an unbeaten 120 to help Punjab home in 39.1 overs. He was ably supported by Pankaj Dharmani (41*). Electing to bat, HP had begun with a 103-run opening stand between Nischal Gaur (77) and Sandeep Sharma (46) before reckless strokeplay accounted for a dramatic collapse. Punjab finished the round-robin phase with 18 points.
Sumit Sharma and Mahesh Rawat sealed Haryana's trip to the knockout stage with a thumping ten-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir at the Harbax Singh Stadium in Delhi. Set 192 for victory after a good bowling performance by Haryana's bowlers, Sharma's 103 from 111 deliveries with 12 fours and Rawat's 83 from 88 entertained their team and the crowd with some fine hitting. Joginder Sharma (2 for 34), Sachin Rana (2 for 41) and Amit Mishra (2 for 37) were responsible for restricting J&K.
Mithun Manhas and Puneet Bisht scored hundreds in Delhi's 223-run win over Services at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Manhas smashed 125 from just 76 balls while Bisht starred with a run-a-ball 118 and six catches behind the stumps as Delhi made 353 for 3. Amrinder Singh, who had taken five wickets in his last match, was carted for 80 runs from seven overs. Kuldeep Rawat then bagged 5 for 39 and Kunal Lal 3 for 36 as Services folded for only 120 in 24.5 overs. Delhi finished the round-robin phase at the third spot with 13 points.
Yusuf Pathan scored an unbeaten 42 to take Baroda to a six-wicket win
over Maharashtra at Vadodara. Chasing 150 for victory, Baroda had suffered early blows at the hands of Sairaj Bahutule, Maharashtra's legspinner, but Pathan kept his cool to see them home in the 33rd over. Dakshay Vohra (4 for 36) and V Parmar (4 for 32) had combined to dismiss Maharashtra for 149 after Jacob Martin won the toss and elected to field. Baroda are second in the West Zone points table with 9.
over Maharashtra at Vadodara. Chasing 150 for victory, Baroda had suffered early blows at the hands of Sairaj Bahutule, Maharashtra's legspinner, but Pathan kept his cool to see them home in the 33rd over. Dakshay Vohra (4 for 36) and V Parmar (4 for 32) had combined to dismiss Maharashtra for 149 after Jacob Martin won the toss and elected to field. Baroda are second in the West Zone points table with 9.
An allround performance from Gujarat took them to a 52-run victory over Saurashtra at the IPCL Sports Complex Ground in Baroda. Bhavik Thaker (53), Akash Christian (49) and Azharuddin Bilakhia (46) carried Gujarat to 256 for 5 and then Kirat Damani, Siddharth Trivedi and Asif Makda chipped in with key wickets to bowl Saurashtra out for 204. Only Shitanshu Kotak, with 55, offered any resistance as his side capitulated in 45 overs and remained beaten in all three matches thus far.