Just when it seemed like Uttarakhand had done enough to seal the last quarterfinal spot in Vijay Hazare Trophy, the seventh-wicket pair of Anuj Rawat and skipper Pradeep Sangwan bounced back with an unbeaten 143-run stand on Sunday.
Looking down and almost out, Delhi owed its dramatic revival to Rawat (95 not out, 85b, 7x4, 6x6) and Sangwan (58 not out, 49b, 6x4, 2x6) who turned the match on its head in the space of 16 overs to take the host home with nine deliveries to spare at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground. The victory gave Delhi a place in the quarterfinals against Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
Chasing 288, Delhi was reduced to 146 for six in 32.3 overs - with Nitish Rana out for 81 (88b, 10x4, 1x6) - and staring at defeat. Barring the last 16 overs, Uttarakhand proved that it was neither intimidated by Delhi’s reputation nor the quality of its resources.
The visiting team started the innings with flair and ended with a flourish. Left-handed Kamal Singh (77, 83b, 11x4, 1x6) and Jay Bista (31, 29b, 4x4) gave an 88-run start in 13.5 overs by taking on new-ball bowlers Kulwant Khejrolia and Simarjeet Singh.
Rawat goes berserk
Kunal Chandela (62, 83b, 6x4), who played a stellar role in Delhi reaching the Ranji Trophy final in the 2017-18 season, punished his former teammates, providing mid-innings solidity.
After Delhi pulled Uttrakhand back through Nitish Rana (2/40) and Lalit Yadav (2/27), it was Saurabh Rawat (44, 23-ball, 4x4, 3x6) who provided the last-over flourish for Uttarakhand. Off left-arm medium pacer Pradeep Sangwan, Rawat hit 24 runs in five deliveries - 6, 6, 4, 6, 2 - before being yorked.
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