Vijay Hazare Trophy QF, Day 2- Tamil Nadu and Gujarat prevail in low-scoring thrillers

Vijay played a good hand, scoring 33

Quarter-Final 3: Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh

In what turned out to be a hugely entertaining match, Tamil Nadu narrowly edged past Uttar Pradesh by 1 wicket, at the M.Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday. In a match which went down right to the wire, Tamil Nadu just about managed to snatch victory from a brave UP squad.

Chasing the low total of 168 set by Uttar Pradesh early on, Tamil Nadu struggled to get going right from the start, as they lost wickets at regular wickets. In the end, though, Rajagopal Sathish held his nerve, and remained unbeaten on 34, to push his side home.

Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh who had won the toss opted to bat first, on a very uncertain wicket. But their batting failed to click as they collapsed to 168 all out in 48.2 overs. RK Singh was the top scorer for UP, with 60, while Piyush Chawla scored a useful 29.

Veteran player Lakshmipathy Balaji was the stand out performer for Tamil Nadu with the ball, picking up 3/23, in just 8.2 overs. Skipper Ashwin snapped 2 wickets towards the end and TN fancied their chances to chase down the modest total.

Uttar Pradesh bowlers fought till the very end, but it was a little too late, as Tamil Nadu managed to qualify for the semi-finals by winning the match by a solitary wicket. Sathish was the star performer for TN, for his all-round performance of 34 and bowling figures 10-2-14-1.

Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 168 (48.2 overs) (RK Singh 60; L.Balaji 3/32) lost to Tamil Nadu 169/9 (41.3 overs) (B.Indrajith 48; Bhuvaneshwar Kumar 3/25), by 1 wicket.

Quarter-Final 4: Vidarbha vs Gujarat

In another enticing encounter, Gujarat overcame a stubborn Vidarbha side, to beat them by 2 wickets, in the last of the quarter-finals in Alur. Vidarbha, who had won the toss and opted to bat first on a good wicket, were left fuming after their middle and lower order failed to replicate the performance of the top order players.

Openers Faiz Fazal and Jitesh Sharma started off strongly for Vidarbha, as they were involved in a 96-run stand, scoring 52 and 51 respectively. After Fazal’s dismissal, former Karnataka batsman Ganesh Satish too played a good knock scoring 47.

The middle order failed to get going, as they lost wickets in a flurry, to quickly fold out for 195, from a position of 131/2. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 4/38, with Rujul Bhatt and Axar Patel snapping 2 wickets apiece.

With the target of 196, Gujarat started strongly but collapsed from 124/3 to 149/7. in pursuit of the low total. But experienced campaigner Axar Patel along with Hardik Patel, ensured Gujarat had the last laugh, as they won by 2 wickets, with 11 balls to spare.

Brief Scores: Vidarbha 195 (48.0 overs) (Faiz Fazal 52; Jasprit Bumrah 4/38) lost to Gujarat 198/8 (48.1 overs) (Parthiv Patel 57, Axar Patel 36*; Wakhare 3/30), by 2 wickets.