Vijay Hazare Trophy: Gujarat annex maiden title
Vivek MV Bengaluru, Dec 29, 2015, DHNS
Parthiv, RP Singh, Bumrah shine as Delhi cave in meekly in summit clash
Having enjoyed a spectacular tournament, where he consistently excelled for Gujarat with both bat and ball, youngster Axar Patel was expectedly the key man for his side ahead of their Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Delhi. But in the all important clash, it was skipper Parthiv Patel and UP-import RP Singh who turned out to be the heroes for Gujarat.
In the day-night encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday, Parthiv slammed a classy century while RP Singh produced a menacing first spell to skittle out the mighty Delhi top order with a four-wicket burst as Gujarat pummelled their fancied opponents by 139 runs to emerge champions.
Asked to bat first, Parthiv’s sublime 105 and a delightful half-century from Rujul Bhatt (60) set up Gujarat’s competitive total of 273 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. For the first time in the tournament, the Delhi bowlers looked jaded. Their key bowler Subodh Bhatti was expensive, giving away 43 runs in his six overs, taking two wickets in the process. Navdeep Saini (2/46) and Pawan Negi (2/36) were the pick of the bowlers.
In response, RP Singh ran through the Delhi batsmen with an incisive first spell that read 7-2-23-4. The left-arm seamer cleaned up opener Rishab Pant with the first ball of the chase and then scalped the dangerous Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan before Jasprit Bumrah rocked the middle order with a five-for (5/28) as Gujarat skittled Delhi for 134 in 32.3 overs to lift their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Earlier, in a match as big as the final, Gujarat needed a confident start and senior batsman Parthiv was up for the challenge. The skipper found his feet moving early on against the pacers to strike elegant boundaries on both sides of the wicket. Parthiv dominated the spinners too, punishing the consistent short balls that were gifted to him.
With the score reading 125 for two in the 24th over, Delhi had the opportunity to send back Parthiv. Batting on 67, Parthiv offered a regulation return catch to Manan Sharma but the left-arm spinner couldn’t latch on to it. With a sweep off Milind Kumar in the 35th over, Parthiv reached a well-deserved ton in 111 balls.
The skipper forged an important 149-run stand with Bhatt, who slammed a 74-ball 60, that included four fours and one six.
In response, Delhi’s opener Pant was cleaned bowled by RP Singh in the first ball of the innings and after four overs, Shikhar Dhawan’s resistance ended when the southpaw danced down the track but mistimed a drive straight to short covers to hand RP Singh his second wicket. Gambhir’s (9) woeful form continued and the Delhi captain lasted just 19 balls before edging an away going delivery off RP Singh to first slip. RP Singh then sent back Milind Kumar while Bumrah cut short Unmukt Chand’s good start when he castled the 22-year old to leave Delhi reeling at 59 for five in the 16th over.
Bumrah made sure there was no recovery act from Delhi and rattled the middle order even as all-rounder Negi (57) was left waging a lone battle. As Gujarat clinched the tie, Parthiv and RP Singh shared the man-of-the-match honour.
In the day-night encounter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday, Parthiv slammed a classy century while RP Singh produced a menacing first spell to skittle out the mighty Delhi top order with a four-wicket burst as Gujarat pummelled their fancied opponents by 139 runs to emerge champions.
Asked to bat first, Parthiv’s sublime 105 and a delightful half-century from Rujul Bhatt (60) set up Gujarat’s competitive total of 273 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. For the first time in the tournament, the Delhi bowlers looked jaded. Their key bowler Subodh Bhatti was expensive, giving away 43 runs in his six overs, taking two wickets in the process. Navdeep Saini (2/46) and Pawan Negi (2/36) were the pick of the bowlers.
In response, RP Singh ran through the Delhi batsmen with an incisive first spell that read 7-2-23-4. The left-arm seamer cleaned up opener Rishab Pant with the first ball of the chase and then scalped the dangerous Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan before Jasprit Bumrah rocked the middle order with a five-for (5/28) as Gujarat skittled Delhi for 134 in 32.3 overs to lift their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Earlier, in a match as big as the final, Gujarat needed a confident start and senior batsman Parthiv was up for the challenge. The skipper found his feet moving early on against the pacers to strike elegant boundaries on both sides of the wicket. Parthiv dominated the spinners too, punishing the consistent short balls that were gifted to him.
With the score reading 125 for two in the 24th over, Delhi had the opportunity to send back Parthiv. Batting on 67, Parthiv offered a regulation return catch to Manan Sharma but the left-arm spinner couldn’t latch on to it. With a sweep off Milind Kumar in the 35th over, Parthiv reached a well-deserved ton in 111 balls.
The skipper forged an important 149-run stand with Bhatt, who slammed a 74-ball 60, that included four fours and one six.
In response, Delhi’s opener Pant was cleaned bowled by RP Singh in the first ball of the innings and after four overs, Shikhar Dhawan’s resistance ended when the southpaw danced down the track but mistimed a drive straight to short covers to hand RP Singh his second wicket. Gambhir’s (9) woeful form continued and the Delhi captain lasted just 19 balls before edging an away going delivery off RP Singh to first slip. RP Singh then sent back Milind Kumar while Bumrah cut short Unmukt Chand’s good start when he castled the 22-year old to leave Delhi reeling at 59 for five in the 16th over.
Bumrah made sure there was no recovery act from Delhi and rattled the middle order even as all-rounder Negi (57) was left waging a lone battle. As Gujarat clinched the tie, Parthiv and RP Singh shared the man-of-the-match honour.
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