Jurel smashes unbeaten century as UP defeat Baroda
Young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel underlined his 50-over credentials ahead of the selection of the Indian team for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand next month by smacking a brilliant unbeaten century while big-hitter Rinku Singh gave another commanding performance as Uttar Pradesh secured a facile 54-run win against Baroda in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game to lead Group B on Monday.
Jurel struck a blazing 160 not out off 101 deliveries as UP scored a mammoth 369 for 7 and then dismissed the rivals for 315 on the last ball to earn four points and take their tally to 12 after three rounds of the tournament. Jurel, who came in following the departure of opener and previous game’s centurion Aryan Juyal (26), struck 15 boundaries and eight maximums, shared a 131-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Rinku (63 off 67 balls), who was uncharacteristically slow by his standards.
Jurel then joined forces with late-order batter Prashant Veer (35) to stitch a 122-run stand for the sixth wicket as UP zoomed to a massive total in no time after being reduced to 92 for 3 in the 19th over. Both, the T20 World Cup-bound Rinku and Prashant played the ideal foil for Jurel as he milked Baroda’s bowling, especially right-arm pacer Rasikh Dar, who went for 102 runs in his 10 overs as the rivals ran out of ideas to contain the rampaging batters.
Young pacer Raj Limbani (4/74) brought some level of sanity with his four-wicket haul but it was not enough against a side packed with big hitters. Baroda openers Shashwat Rawat (60) and Shivalik Sharma (30) did start the chase in earnest but losing Jitesh Sharma and Priyanshu Moliya in quick succession impeded their progress, with Sameer Rizvi (2/43) and spinner Sameer Rizvi (3/53) causing a lot of damage.
Still, skipper Krunal Pandya (82 off 77 balls) held out some hope till the time he was at the crease. But his departure in the 43rd over virtually stalled Baroda’s victory bid. Following their third successive win in the seven-round group contest, UP secured the pole position. Jammu & Kashmir, Vidarbha, Baroda and Bengal are on eight points each in that order behind UP. India pacers Mohammed Shami (3/69) and Mukesh Kumar (5/59) bowled beautifully for Bengal but Chandigarh, riding on captain Manan Vohra’s 122, managed 319 in 48.2 overs.
In reply, veteran Bengal opener Abishek Porel crafted his own 106 (4 balls) to help his side to a six-wicket win with 14 balls to spare. Meanwhile, Vidarbha aced a 312-run chase against J&K with five wickets to spare with opener Aman Mokhade (139 off 125 balls) and middle-order batter Ravikumar Samarth (114 off 108) striking centuries. J&K, after their 341 against Assam, made 311 for 9 with top-order batter Yawer Hassan contributing 79. But for seasoned Vidarbha it was hardly a challenge as they reached 315 for 5 with nine deliveries to spare.
Brief Scores
Uttar Pradesh: 369 for 7 in 50 overs (Abhishek Goswami 51, Dhruv Jurel 160 not out, Rinku Singh 63; Raj Limbani 4/74) beat Baroda 315 all out in 50 overs (Shashwat Rawat 60, Krunal Pandya 82; Zeeshan Ansari 3/53, Sameer Rizvi 2/43) by 54 runs.
Hyderabad: 310 for 8 in 50 overs (Rahul Singh 79, Abhirath Reddy 54, Nitesh Reddy 53; Abdul Ajij Kuraishi 3/71) lost to Assam 314 for 6 in 49.3 overs (Saurav Dihingia 91, Sibsankar Roy 112, Denish Das 54; Chama Milind 3/68) by 4 wickets.
Jammu and Kashmir: 311 for 9 in 50 overs (Qamran Iqbal 54, Yawer Hassan 79; Yash Thakur 3/73, Yash Kadam 2/10) lost to Vidarbha 315 for 5 in 48.3 overs (Aman Mokhade 139, Ravikumar Samarth 114; Yudhvir Singh 3/69) by 5 wickets.
Chandigarh: 319 in 48.2 overs (Manan Vohra 112, Sanyam Saini 67; Mohammed Shami 3/69, Mukesh Kumar 5/59, Shahbaz Ahmed 2/51) lost to Bengal 320 for 4 in 47.4 overs (Abishek Porel 106, Anustup Majumdar 63, Shahbaz Ahmed 76 not out) by six wickets.
