Yuvraj special seals the deal for Punjab
A round-up of all the Group A matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 15, 2015
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Dec-2015
File photo: Yuvraj Singh hit 10 fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 59-ball 78 • PTI
An unbeaten 78 from Yuvraj Singh helped Punjab take another step closer to the knockouts as they beat Rajasthan by six wickets to register their fourth win in five matches. Manender Singh, playing in only his second List A game, top-scored with 118 in Rajasthan's 270 for 7, but it wasn't enough as Punjab's launch pad was set by Jiwanjot Singh (66) and Mandeep Singh (60). That smoothened the passage of victory as Yuvraj hit 10 fours and two sixes in his 59-ball knock and Punjab won with 32 balls to spare. Brainder Sran, the left-arm pacer, was Punjab's best bowler of the day, finishing with figures of 4 for 60.
Services were consigned to their second successive loss as Mumbai put it past them by six wickets in a Group A fixture. Nakul Verma's half-century was the lone bright spark in a disappointing batting effort as Services were bowled out for 151 in 42.1 overs. The bulk of the damage was done by pacer Shardul Thakur who finished with 4 for 19.
The in-form Akhil Herwadkar piloted Mumbai's chase with a 48-ball 46, while Shreyas Iyer, coming in at No. 3, contributed 35. Although Mumbai lost three quick wickets with the target in sight, victory was never in doubt. They eventually crossed the line in 25.2 overs to post their third win in four matches.
Assam, who came within touching distance of upsetting Punjab on Monday, suffered a batting collapse as Hyderabad beat them by 72 runs to register their first win in the tournament. Hyderabad, who were sent in to bat, were propelled to 271 for 8 courtesy Tanmay Agarwal's 83. Hanuma Vihari, the captain who walked out to bat at No. 3, chipped in with 51 as he and Agarwal put on 107 for the third wicket to set the foundation for a big total.
As many as six Assam batsmen got off to starts, with Pallavkumar Das' 54 at the top of the order being the highest. The pace duo of Ravi Kiran and Chama Milind picked up three wickets each as Assam were bowled out for 199. With five losses in as many matches, Assam have only pride to play for in their final league fixture of the tournament on Thursday.