Vijay Hazare Trophy: Delhi qualify for knock-outs

Title contenders Delhi comfortably made it to the knock-out stages of the Vijay Hazare Trophy by defeating Services courtesy VJD method in their final North Zone leg encounter at the Lohnu ground in Bilaspur.

The match was curtailed to 38-overs per side and Services scored 205 for seven in the stipulated overs with Yashpal Singh scoring 52 and Devendra Lochab made 44.

In reply, Delhi were 172 for three in 29.5 overs when rain stopped play and they were declared winners as per V Jaydevan rain rule which is applied for domestic matches.

According to VJD method, Delhi won by 35 runs and qualified as the runners-up from the North Zone with 17 points to Punjab's 21.

For Delhi, the victory was achieved due to a 130-run second wicket partnership between opener Unmukt Chand, who made a patient 64 off 85 balls and glovesman Puneet Bisht who smashed a run-a-ball 78 after being promoted up the order.

While Unmukt's innings contained eight boundaries, the cheeky Puneet hit six fours and two sixes.

By virtue of being one of the four semi-finalists of the last year's edition, Delhi will be directly playing in the quarter-final of this year's knock-out competition and are likely to face Mumbai in their last eight clash.

Brief Scores:
Services 205/7 in 38 overs (Yashpal Singh 52, Devendra Lochab 44, Pradeep Sangwan 3/73)
Delhi 172/3 in 29.5 overs (Unmukt Chand 64, Puneet Bisht 85). 

Assam top East Zone table
Kolkata: Gokul Sharma produced an all-round show to propel Assam into the quarter-finals with a six-wicket win over Jharkhand at the Eden Gardens.

This was Assam's third successive bonus-point victory in the one-day domestic tournament as they topped the East Zone leg with 15 points, while former champions Jharkhand (3) were on the brink of exit.

Toss once again became the decisive factor in the East Zone leg of the tournament, as Assam had little hesitation putting Jharkhand up front before being bundled out for 116 in 41.2 overs, taking full advantage of the early morning condition on a green top.

Sharma (4/32) was the wrecker in chief while Pritam Das and Arup Das chipped in with two wickets each as Jharkhand could not get a partnership going.

Chasing an easy target, Assam seemed to be in trouble at 44 for three, but Sharma put on a gritty 27 not out (52 balls, 3x4) in a 69-run fourth-wicket partnership with top-scorer Tarjinder Singh (37, 51b, 5x4) to steer the side home in 25.4 overs.

Brief Scores:
Jharkhand 116; 41.2 overs (Ishank Jaggi 27, Sunny Gupta 26; Gokul Sharma 4/32, Pritam Das 2/16, Arup Das 2/26).
Assam 119/4; 25.4 overs (Tarjinder Singh 37, Gokul Sharma 27 not out; Sunny Gupta 2/18).

Punjab thrash HP by 10 wickets
Dharamsala: Punjab crushed Himachal Pradesh by 10 wickets en route their entry into the quarter-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as the toppers of the North Zone leg.

Punjab finished their group league engagements with 21 points having got a bonus point from the match played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.

Punjab skipper Taruwar Kohli won the toss and seamer Sandeep Sharma ran through the opposition taking five for 53 as Himachal were all out for 129 in 30.5 overs.

In reply, Punjab openers Ravi Inder Singh and Chandan Madan didn't have much trouble as they knocked off the runs in only 24.2 overs. Ravi Inder scored 76 off 82 balls with 10 fours and a six. Veteran 'keeper Madan remained unbeaten on 40.

Brief Scores:
Himachal Pradesh 129 in 30.5 overs (Amit Kumar 39, Sandeep Sharma 5/53).
Punjab 130/0 in 24.2 overs (Ravi Inder Singh 76 batting, Chandan Madan 40). Punjab won by 10 wkts.

Minnows Tripura stun Bengal
Kolkata: Defending champions Bengal put up yet another listless batting display to concede a humiliating bonus point to minnows Tripura, who sailed to a two-wicket victory to conclude their campaign on a high in East Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy ODI domestic tournament.

With seven points in its kitty, Bengal will now have to beat East Zone leaders Assam in their concluding league match to advance into the knock-out stage.

Tripura, on the other hand, departed on a high as they picked up a bonus point victory in their concluding league fixture after suffering three defeats on the trot.

Tripura took the maximum advantage of the toss at the Jadavpur campus ground in Saltlake, as they bundled out Bengal for 121 in 33.3 overs.

Bengal lost their last four wickets for six runs. The hosts' top-order was equally sloppy as their top four batsmen, including Manoj Tiwary (16), scored just 22 runs.

Anushtup Majumdar (30) was the top-scorer for Bengal, who benefited from 31 extras conceded by Tripura, including 18 wides.

In reply, Shami Ahmed (3/37) put up a discliplined bowling performance but the small target did not help Bengal's cause as Tripura chased it down with 106 balls remaining to steal one point from the hosts.

Timir Chanda anchored Tripura's chase with his unbeaten 34 from 49 balls (5x4) after they were six down for 81.

Brief Scores:
Bengal: 121 all out in 33.3 overs (Anushtup Majumdar 30; Udit Patel 4/17, Timir Chanda 2/19, Bunti Roy 2/41).
Tripura: 123 for 8 wickets in 32.2 overs (Gaurav Bhatia 32, Timir Chanda 34 not out; Shami Ahmed 3/37).