Yuvraj Singh guided Punjab to a six-wicket victory, their first in the tournament, with an unbeaten 96 off 95 balls against defending champions Delhi in the north zone leg of Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here on Saturday.
The 229-run target set by Delhi wasn’t a big one but overcast conditions demanded patience from batsmen.
And Yuvraj, an experienced campaigner, wasn’t in a hurry. He took his time to get the hang of the pace and bounce in the pitch before launching an all out attack.
When he came in to bat, Punjab were struggling at 57 for 3 in 16 overs and they needed a big stand to avoid defeat. Soon they were reduced to 89 for 4 when Parvinder Awana dismissed Mandeep Singh for just 16.
Yuvraj found an able partner in Gurkeerat Mann (53 not out) and they together stitched an unbroken 143-run partnership to take Punjab past the target in 47 overs.
For Delhi, Mithun Manhas (98 off 115 balls) performed yet another rescue act but was unlucky to miss his century sixth list A century by two runs. Except Manhas, no other Delhi batsmen could survive the disciplined Punjab bowling. With 4 for 37, medium pacer Siddharth Kaul did most of the damage while skipper Harbhajan Singh (2 for 54) and Taruwar Kohli (2 for 45) shone in supporting roles. Virender Sehwag (10) once again disappointed his team.
Brief Scores
Delhi: 228 in 49.1 covers (Mithun Manhas 98, Siddharth Kaul 4/37, Harbhajan Singh 2/54) lost to Punjab: 232/4 in 47 overs. (Yuvraj Singh 96 not out, Gurkeerat Singh 52*) by 6 wickets.
Points Punjab 4; Delhi 0