Vijay Hazare Trophy: Sarfaraz powers Mumbai to 4th straight victory, Maharashtra, Punjab score big wins

Jaipur, Dec 31 (IANS) Out-of-favour India batter Sarfaraz Khan smashed a blistering 157 off 75 balls as Mumbai defeated Goa by 87 runs in an Elite Group C clash of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya ground on Wednesday.

Sarfaraz, 27, reached his third List A century in just 56 deliveries, as his explosive knock, featuring nine fours and 14 sixes, dismantled Goa bowling attack. Mumbai middle order capitalised on the conditions after Goa elected to field first.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, returning from acute gastroenteritis, and Musheer Khan added 70 runs for the second wicket before Jaiswal fell for 46. Brothers Sarfaraz and Musheer then combined for a 93-run third-wicket partnership before the former cut loose. He scored 104 runs off 46 balls against spinners Misal and Lalit Yadav, while captain Shardul Thakur plundered 26 runs in a single over from Shubham Tari.

Hardik Tamore quickfire 53 off 28 balls and Tanush Kotian unbeaten 23 off 12 deliveries propelled Mumbai to their second-highest List A total. Chasing 445, Goa stumbled early after openers Arjun Tendulkar and Kashyap Bakle failed to build on their starts.

Abhinav Tejrana fought back with a century off 70 balls, adding 117 runs with Lalit for the fifth wicket. Captain Deepraj Gaonkar explosive 70 off 28 balls delayed the inevitable, but Goa were eventually bowled out for 357, giving Mumbai their fourth straight win in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Punjab registered a convincing six-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh, thanks to Sukhdeep Bajwa four-wicket haul and fifties from Prabhsimran Singh and Anmolpreet Singh. Bajwa’s four wickets helped Punjab restrict Himachal Pradesh to 227, with Naman Dhir chipping in by taking two scalps.

In reply, Punjab batsmen made light work of the target. Prabhsimran top-scored with 84, while Anmolpreet contributed a steady 72. Dhir then completed an all-round performance by remaining unbeaten on 50 to guide Punjab home with six wickets in hand.

On the other hand, Maharashtra delivered a commanding all-round performance to register a comprehensive 129-run victory over Uttarakhand. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad led from the front with a brilliant 124, while Satyajeet Bachhav provided crucial support with a 45-ball 56, and Ramakrishna Ghosh provided finishing touches with a blistering 47 off 31 deliveries.

Uttarakhand chase never gained momentum as Maharashtra bowlers dominated proceedings. Bachhav followed up his batting heroics with three wickets, while Ramakrishna Ghosh chipped in with two crucial scalps, and Rajvardhan Hangargekar also took three wickets to bowl out Uttarakhand for 202.

Brief scores:

Mumbai 444/8 in 50 overs (Sarfaraz Khan 157, Musheer Khan 60; Darshan Misal 3-98) beat Goa 357/9 in 50 overs (Abhinav Tejrana 100, Deepraj Gaonkar 70; Shardul Thakur 3-20) by 87 runs

Maharashtra 331/7 in 50 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 124, Satyajeet Bachhav 56; Devendra Bora 3-81) beat Uttarakhand 202 in 43.4 overs (Saurabh Rawat 56; Satyajeet Bachhav 3-22) by 129 runs

Himachal Pradesh 221 in 47.2 overs (Pukhraj Mann 76, Mridul Surroch 58; Sukhdeep Bajwa 4-17) lost to Punjab 223/4 in 36.1 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 84, Anmolpreet Singh 72; Rohit Kumar 2-32) by six wickets

Chhattisgarh 355/3 in 50 overs (Vikalp Tiwari 112 not out, Ayush Pandey 86; Mohammed Saptulla 1-24) beat Sikkim 126 all out in 34 overs (Gurinder Singh 47, Palzor Tamang 43; Dev Aditya Singh 4-25, Ajay Mandal 4-40) by 229 runs

--IANS

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