Priyank Panchal (84 off 112 balls) and Kshitij Patel (89* off 110 balls) put in a superb collective effort at the top as Gujarat hammered Rajasthan by eight wickets in a Vijay Hazare Trophy (Elite C) group match at the IIT-Chemplast Ground in Chennai on Tuesday.
The two batsmen weathered a tricky chase at the start which saw Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel being clean bowled off Tanveer-Ul-Haq for a first-ball duck.
Panchal and Patel both brought up their respective fifties, blunting a Rajasthan attack that didn't threaten at any stage of the match.
Chandrapal Singh — Rajasthan's star with the bat — pulled a hamstring and had to limp off the field after bowling just 5.4 overs.
Earlier, Rajasthan got off to a sedate start after electing to bat. The openers Chetan Bist and Amit Gautam added 19 runs in 10.5 overs before a direct hit from Piyush Chawla at mid-off caught Gautam short of his crease.
That triggered a collapse with left-arm spinner Hardik Patel reducing Rajasthan to 53/6. Patel finished with figures of 10-2-22-5.
Singh and Bist then did some damage control with a 63-run seventh-wicket partnership.
Bist's vigil (40 off 100 balls) ended when he was stumped off Patel.
Singh's unbeaten 95-ball 82, studded with five sixes and three fours, provided Rajasthan with a late thrust, and gave the sparse crowd at the ground something to cheer.
