Published: Dec 13, 2015, 08:22 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 13, 2015, 08:22 PM (IST)
Rajkot: An unbeaten knock of 74 by Harpreet Singh and Jalaj Saxena’s 69 helped Madhya Pradesh beat Goa by seven wickets in the Vijay Hazare Group ‘D’ match on Sunday. Electing to bat, Goa were bundled out for 214 in 43.2 overs at the Madhavrao Scindia cricket ground here and then MP reached the target after losing just three wickets with 46 balls to spare. Goa’s Swapnil Asnodkar and Saurabh Bandekar made 68 runs each but other batsmen failed miserably on a batting friendly track, with MP bowlers striking at regular intervals. P M Datey, C Sakur, Ankit Sharma and Jalaj Saxena bagged two wickets each. Full updates: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015-16, HYD vs SER, MP vs Goa, BAR vs VID, TRI vs MAH, GUJ vs RAI, HAR vs J&K, TN vs PUN
Chasing 215 for victory, Madhya Pradesh did not have a good start as opener R M Patidar got was out for a duck. However, Jalaj Saxena and Naman Ojha (47) added 73 runs for the second wicket. And then Saxena coupled with Harpreet Singh to put on 87-run third wicket stand. Saxena made 69, while Harpreet remained unbeaten on 74 off 72 balls, hitting 10 fours to achieve the target in 42.2 overs.
Madhya Pradesh have thus won their first match of the tournament but Goa are yet to get off the mark after three matches and therefore lie right at the bottom of the table in Group D. They will have to start performing better in order to make it to the next stage of the tournament. Madhya Pradesh on the other hand will be happy to have their first win of the tournament and will be looking to carry their momentum in the furure matches to come.
Brief Scores:
Goa: 214 (Swapnil Asnodkar 68, Saurabh Bandekar 68, Jalaj Saxena 2 for 21, PM Datey 2 for 34) lost to Madhya Pradesh: 215 for three (Jalaj Saxena 69, Harpreet Singh 74*, Shadab Jakati 2 for 44)by 7 wickets.
