Vijay Hazare Trophy: Vineet, Rajat ensure Services’ five-wicket win against Hyderabad

Vineet Dhankhar stitched up a match-winning 123-run partnership with captain Rajat Paliwal (77 runs from 101 balls) to take Services to its third win in the tournament.

Vineet Dhankhar of Services scored 78 off 76 balls against Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: Anish Pathiyil

A sublime 78 off 76 balls from Vineet Dhankhar helped Services beat Hyderabad by five wickets in the Group B Vijay Hazare Trophy match in Jaipur on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old stitched up a match-winning 123-run partnership with captain Rajat Paliwal (77 runs from 101 balls) to take Services to its third win in the tournament.

Chasing a 210-run target, Services found itself in a spot of bother, losing three wickets in the first eleven overs.

Opener Shubham Rohilla found the fielder at deep fine leg with his lofted flick in the third over against T. Ravi Teja. Soon after, fellow opening batter Ravi Chauhan was dismissed, caught at the same position, playing an attempted hook.

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Services plummeted to 29 for three in the eleventh over when Kartikeya Kak generated some extra bounce as Anshul Gupta got caught at gully for four.

Paliwal and Dhankar then weathered the storm for the next twenty overs before accelerating against the spinners. After Dhankar fell to Kak in the 32nd over, Paliwal and Mohit Ahlawat combined for a 59-run stand to see the team through.

Earlier, Services found some movement in the air after opting to field first, with Nitin Yadav picking up three early wickets. Indian U19 talent Aravelly Avanish Rao was trapped in front for nought, facing his first ball in the tournament.

Rohit Rayudu edged behind for 13 after two boundaries, and captain Rahul Singh was dismissed for four, finding mid-off with a mistimed lofted shot.

Tanmay Agarwal and Varun Goud stitched a 42-run partnership off 78 balls, with the former managing to find the singles regularly while Goud struggled to get going.

Tanmay was trapped in front for 45 off 62 balls, attempting a sweep against Pulkit Narang. Goud’s scrap ended right after, his mistimed shot finding Chauhan at backward point.

Chandan Sahani and Buddhi Rahul put on 35 before the former was castled for 20 by a Narang arm-ball. Buddhi (80 runs off 87 balls) batted on, curbing his regular attacking instincts, rotating strike and taking it long.

Despite losing wickets at regular intervals at the other end, Buddhi clattered a few boundaries at the death to take the team to 210, which proved inadequate.