India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returned to form with an unbeaten century and steered Saurashtra to a four-wicket win over Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday. Batting at number four, Jadeja smashed a 116-ball 113 not out, inclusive of seven fours and four sixes, as Saurashtra knocked off Jharkhand's 330-run target with 10 balls to spare.
Captain Cheteshwar Pujara also returned among runs (44 from 54 balls; 6x4) in a 73-run partnership with Jadeja at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad. The left-hander also shared 114 runs with Chirag Jani (59) and played the finisher's role to perfection, taking them past the line in 48.2 overs, as Saurashtra returned to winning ways and remained in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth.
A splendid all-round show by Vishal Kushwah helped Chhattisgarh halt Ranji champions Vidarbha's four-match winning streak with a stunning 45-run victory at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad.
Vidarbha remained on top with 16 points from five matches but the win lifted Chhattisgarh (12) to second place, going past Hyderabad (12) on net run rate in the group D table. Saurashtra (eight) jumped to fourth place with eight points from four matches.
Batting at number seven, Kushwah hammered a 36-ball 61, studded with five sixes and four boundaries, to propel Chhattisgarh to a challenging 284 for eight after they elected to bat.
Kushwah went on to become the wrecker-in-chief, returning figures of 4/54 with his medium pace bowling, as Vidarbha collapsed to 239 in 46.1 overs.
Kushwah dismissed Ganesh Satish (25) before removing Ravi Jangid (four) and Apoorv Wankhade (0) in five balls to derail their chase.
In the 26th over, Kushwah got his fourth victim in captain Faiz Fazal, who got out for 53 as Vidarbha were left tottering for 125/6.
Akshay Karnewar kept Vidarbha in the hunt with a 64-ball 60 (3x4, 3x6) but his valiant effort went in vain, with Shahnawaz Hussain (3/41) wrapping up the issue in 46.1 overs.
Earlier, captain Amandeep Khare was Chhattisgarh's top scorer with a 57-ball 65 (7x4, 2x6) as he steered their middle order after a mini collapse.
Brief Scores:
Chhattisgarh 284/8; 50 overs (Amandeep Khare 65, Vishal Kushwah 61; Shrikant Wagh 3/58) beat Vidarbha 239 all out; 46.1 overs (Akshay Karnewar 60, Faiz Fazal 53; Kushwah 4/54, Shahnawaz Hussain 3/41) by 45 runs.
At AOC Centre Thapar Stadium, Secunderabad: Services 296/6; 50 overs (Nakul Verma 125, Rahul Singh 71; Diwesh Pathania 48 not out) lost to Jammu & Kashmir 297/5; 49 overs (Shubham Khajuria 102, Ahmed Bandy 94, Ian Dev Singh 48) by five wickets.
At Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad: Jharkhand 329/9; 50 overs (Ishan Kishan 93, Sumit Kumar 64) lost to Saurashtra 333/6; 48.2 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 113 not out, Chirag Jani 59) by four wickets.
