NEW DELHI: Despite the presence of experienced Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurashtra faced a setback as Tripura secured a convincing 148-run victory over the defending champions in their Group A match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru on Monday.
Tripura posted a challenging total of 258 for 8, powered by half-centuries from Bikram Kumar Das (59 off 76 balls), Sudip Chatterjee (61 off 93 balls), and Ganesh Satish (71 off 74 balls).
Jaydev Unadkat, the veteran left-arm pacer, led Saurashtra's bowling with an impressive five-wicket haul (5 for 35).
In response, Saurashtra struggled and could only manage 110 runs before being bowled out in 31.4 overs. Part-timer Joydeb Deb shone with the ball, claiming a five-wicket haul (5 for 15).
Saurashtra faced early trouble at 13 for three, losing Harvik Desai, Sheldon Jackson, and Chirag Jani in quick succession.
While Pujara (24) and Arpit Vasavada (16) attempted to revive the innings with a 37-run partnership for the fourth wicket, Bikram Debnath's dismissal of Pujara dented Saurashtra's hopes of a successful chase.
Sandeep Warrier shines in Bengal's victory
Pacer Warrier played a pivotal role, securing four wickets (4/23), as Tamil Nadu bowled out Bengal for a meager total of 84 in their Group E match.
Despite facing some challenges, Tamil Nadu eventually achieved the target in 19.1 overs but lost five wickets in the process.
Devdutt Padikkal powers Karnataka to win
In a Group C match, middle-order batsman Padikkal played a composed innings, scoring a fluent 70 off 69 balls, as Karnataka successfully chased down the target of 144 without much trouble, securing a six-wicket victory over Delhi.
Earlier in the match, pacers Vidwath Kaverappa (3/25) and Vasuki Koushik (3/19) showcased a strong bowling performance, equally sharing six wickets as Delhi was bowled out for 143.
Ayush Badoni emerged as the standout performer for Delhi, single-handedly leading their batting with an unbeaten century. Badoni's innings comprised 100 runs off 106 balls, featuring 12 fours and four sixes.
However, Karnataka's effective bowling effort and Padikkal's impressive batting ensured the successful chase for Karnataka.
Madhya Pradesh drub Punjab by 89 runs
In a Group E match, Punjab's strong batting unit containing the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh and Mandeep Singh suffered a light out, going down to Madhya Pradesh by 89 runs.
Akshat Raghuvanshi (62) and Rajat Patidar (31) guided MP to 177 before Kumar Kartikeya Singh (3/20) and Arshad Khan (3/9) bundled out Punjab for 89.
Brief scores:
(With PTI inputs)
