Deepak Hooda’s unbeaten 75 off just 39 deliveries guided Rajasthan to a six-wicket win against Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite Group C fixture on November 4.
Put in to bat, Jharkhand posted a competitive total of 146-5 at the FB Colony Ground here. Kumar Deobrat 51 (34b, 5x4, 3x6) and Saurabh Tiwary 43 not out (36b, 3x4, 1x6) did the bulk of the scoring.
Also read | Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Perfect platform to catch the eye of IPL scouts
In its chase, Rajasthan found itself in a spot of bother after losing openers Arjit Gupta (1) and Ankit Lamba (9) in quick succession. With the team reeling at 10/2, Hooda - who moved to Rajasthan from Baroda this year - stood firm and built small partnerships.
He put up a 47-run stand with captain Ashok Menaria (16; 18b, 2x4) for the third wicket, and after the dismissal of the captain and Mahipal Lomror, Hooda paired with Shubham Sharma (33 not out; 18b, 4X4, 1X6) to guide the team home with 15 balls to spare.
Hooda, a seasoned campaigner in the domestic circuit and the Indian Premier League, crafted his innings with six boundaries and five sixes, with a strike rate of 192.30. He was ably supported by Shubham, who made his presence felt, slamming four boundaries and a six.
The Jharkhand bowlers had a quiet day at office.
Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy | Karnataka begins campaign on a winning note
Haryana, Andhra win
In another fixture, Himanshu Rana’s unbeaten 87 guided Haryana to eight-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh. In reply to Himachal’s 145-9, Haryana finished things off in just 17.4 overs. While Rana stole the show, Chaitanya Bishnoi, too, chipped in with a gritty 34.
S. Bharat’s 70 and Ashwin Hebbar’s unbeaten 73 helped Andhra defeat Jammu and Kashmir by 36 runs. After Andhra put up a mammoth 198-1, Jammu and Kashmir reached 162-8 in 20 overs, with opener Qamran Iqbal being the top scorer (47, 42b, 2X4, 2X6).
Summarised scores
Jharkhand 146-5 in 20 overs (Kumar Deobrat 51, Saurabh Tiwary not out 43; Tanveer-ul-Haq 2-18, Aniket Chaudhary 2-41) lost to Rajasthan 147-4 in 17.3 overs (Deepak Hooda not out 75, Shubham Sharma not out 33; Rahul Shukla 1-24, Monu Kumar 1-21, Vivekanand Tiwary 1-29).
Himachal Pradesh 145-9 in 20 overs (Nikhil Gangta 52; Rishi Dhawan 28; Harshal Patel 3-27, Mohit Sharma 3-28, Jayant Yadav 2-14) lost to Haryana 149-2 in 17.4 overs (Himanshu Rana 87 not out, Chaitanya Bishnoi 34; Pankaj Jaswal 1-23).
Andhra 198-1 in 20 overs (Ashwin Hebbar not out 73, S. Bharat 70, Ricky Bhui not out 44; Mujtaba Yousuf 1-33) beat Jammu and Kashmir 162-8 in 20 overs (Qamran Iqbal 47, Ian Dev Singh 38, Parvez Rasool not out 22; C. Stephen 3-33, KV Sashikanth 2-30).
