Vijay Hazare Trophy: Puducherry razes Sikkim, Uttarakhand overcomes Nagaland

Medium pacer Ashith Rajiv takes six wickets as Puducherry bowls Sikkim out for 112 en route to a 10-wicket win.

File Photo: Paras Dogra struck 10 fours and two sixes his rapid 70.

Puducherry routed Sikkim by 10 wickets on Tuesday in a Vijay Hazare Trophy Plate Group contest at the Tanush Academy Ground in Dehradun. The win allowed Puducherry to maintain its slender lead at the top of the points table.

Choosing to bat, Sikkim lost wickets consistently and folded for 112. Medium pacer Ashith Rajiv was the chief wicket-taker; he registered career-best figures of 6 for 37, and left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi took 3 for 7.

AS IT HAPPENED

Puducherry cantered to its target without breaking a sweat. Openers Paras Dogra and Arun Karthik took 11.4 overs to ensure victory. Dogra was at his aggressive best, slamming 10 fours and two sixes in his 41-ball 70. Karthik (41 n.o., 29b, 5x4, 2x6) was enterprising, too.

This was Puducherry’s fourth win in the competition. It has 20 points from six matches.

Binny’s century in vain

At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uttarakhand defeated Nagaland by seven wickets. Stuart Binny waged a lone battle for Nagaland with a century (107, 108b, 7x4, 7x6) as wickets kept falling around him. Nagaland was bundled out for 174 in 44.5 overs after having elected to bat.

Uttarakhand took 36.2 overs to chase down the target. Avneesh Sudha top-scored with a 71-ball 77 (5x4, 3x6) while No. 3 Tanmay Srivastava scored 54 (97b, 2x4). The two stitched a 122-run partnership.

With this win, Uttarakhand occupies the second place in the points table.

Only one team from the group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

• At Tanush Academy Ground:Sikkim 112 in 36.3 overs (Ashith 6 for 37, Sagar P. Udeshi 3 for 7) loses to Puducherry 116 for 0 (P. K. Dogra 70 n.o.) in 11.4 overs by 10 wickets.
• At Abhimanyu Cricket Academy:Meghalaya 316 for 5 in 50 overs (R. R. Biswa 134, Punit Bisht 103, Abrar Kazi 3 for 33) beat Mizoram 139 in 38 overs (Pawan K. B. 52, Swarajeet Das 3 for 17) by 177 runs.
• At Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium:Nagaland 174 (Stuart Binny 107) loses to Uttarakhand 176 for 3 (Avneesh Sudha 77, Tanmay Srivastava 54 n.o.) by seven wickets.