Vijay Hazare Trophy: Wet outfield thwarts Karnataka surge

Karnataka’s Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Haryana was abandoned without a ball being bowled at Alur (2) ground in Bengaluru on Saturday, due to a wet outfield.

Karnataka stays on top of Group ‘A’ with 10 points (two wins and a no-result), while Haryana (6 points) lies in third place.

Karnataka’s Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Haryana was abandoned without a ball being bowled at Alur (2) ground here on Saturday, due to a wet outfield.

Overnight rains left a section of the outfield damp. Umpires Vineet Kulkarni and Nitin Pandit made five inspections of the affected area before deciding to call off the match. No play was possible despite the presence of clear skies through the day.

Karnataka stays on top of Group ‘A’ with 10 points (two wins and a no-result), while Haryana (6 points) lies in third place.

In the adjacent Alur (3) ground, Yuvraj Singh (51, 36b, 7x4, 1x6) delighted the crowd, but was unable to power Punjab past Baroda.

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On the back of a 93-run sixth-wicket stand between Vishnu Solanki (77 n.o., 49b) and Swapnil Singh (33, 37b), Baroda posted 167 for seven in 21 overs. The fixture was curtailed, as the wet outfield forced a delayed start.

Yuvraj brought Punjab close, but his team fell short by 25 runs. Punjab’s under-19 World Cup star Shubman Gill fell leg-before to left-arm pacer Lukman Meriwala for 8.

Baroda recorded a second victory in three outings, while Punjab slipped to its second defeat.

At Alur (1), Railways defeated Assam by 35 runs in a low-scoring affair. Railways notched up its first win in two matches, relegating Assam to a second-straight defeat.

Brief scores: Alur (1): Railways 161 in 43.1 overs (Abhishek Yadav 31, Avinash Yadav 30, Arup Das three for 41, Jitumoni Kalita three for 23) bt Assam 126 in 39.3 overs (Amit Sinha 39, Amit Mishra five for 21, Ankit Yadav three for 24). Alur (2): Karnataka vs Haryana (no play possible due to wet outfield) Alur (3): Baroda 167 for seven in 21 overs (Vishnu Solanki 77 n.o., Swapnil Singh 33, Siddharth Kaul three for 36) bt Punjab 142 in 20.5 overs (Yuvraj Singh 51) (Delayed start due to wet outfield).