In Vijay Hazare Trophy matches on Saturday at various venues across the nation, Rohit Rayudu and Tilak Varma each slammed impressive centuries to help Hyderabad defeat Himachal Pradesh by 17 runs, while Mumbai defeated Bengal thanks to captain Ajinkya Rahane's half-century and Tanush Kotian's 4 for 31.
The magnificent hundreds by Rohit Rayudu and Tilak Varma in New Delhi helped Hyderabad defeat Himachal Pradesh by 17 runs using the VJD technique in their Group A match.
When Hyderabad was asked to bat, they scored 360 for 3 in 50 overs thanks to opener Rayudu's 156 off 144 deliveries (12x4; 8x6) and one-down Varma's unbeaten 132 off 106 deliveries (10x4; 3x6).
The two helped to frustrate the Himachal bowlers with a 123-run partnership for the second wicket.
In response, Himachal achieved 335/9 in 48 overs thanks to opener Prashant Chopra's even-ball 70 and Amit Kumar's 98-ball 103 during the game that was hampered by bad weather.
Tanush Kotian, an off-spinner, claimed a career-high 4/31 at Ranchi, as the Mumbai bowlers completely destroyed the Bengal batting order. Shams Mulani, a fellow spinner, claimed 2/14. Tushar Desphande (2/23) and Mohit Avasthi (1/29), two pacers, also made the list of wicket-takers as Mumbai bowled Bengal out for a pitiful 121 in 31.3 overs.
As Mumbai chased the mark in 30.2 overs, Rahane produced a captain's knock of 59 from 72 balls (6 4, 2 6).
Also in Ranchi, Maharashtra overcame Railways by seven wickets behind an unbeaten 124 from opener Ruturaj Gaikwad. He put up a 165-run opening partnership with Rahul Tripathi (75), helping Maharashtra defeat Railways by scoring 219 runs with 70 balls remaining.
Railways had reached 218/8 in 50 overs with Shivam Chaudhary scoring 46 and allrounder Karn Sharma adding 40. Shamshuzama Kazi was the top bowler for Maharashtra with 2/26. In response, Maharashtra reached 219/3 in 38.2 overs thanks to Ruturaj Gaikwad (124 not out) and Rahul Tripathi 75.
In other matches, Assam beat Rajasthan by 143 runs in Group B; Karanata outplayed Meghalaya by 115 runs; Delhi defeated Vidarbha by five wickets; Jharkhand got the better of Sikkim by 193 runs, Ranji champions Saurashtra thrashed Chandigarh by seven wickets and Uttar Pradesh beat Tripura by 83 runs in a Group A clash played in New Delhi.