Puducherry on top after 8-wkt win over Chandigarh

DEHRADUN:Puducherry climbed to the top of the Plate Group table with a clinical eight-wicket win over Chandigarh, while Assam medium pacer Pritam Das claimed a hat-trick in their 180-run rout of Manipur in the Vijay Hazare Trophy here today.

Dehradun, October 7

Puducherry climbed to the top of the Plate Group table with a clinical eight-wicket win over Chandigarh, while Assam medium pacer Pritam Das claimed a hat-trick in their 180-run rout of Manipur in the Vijay Hazare Trophy here today.

Veteran R Vinay Kumar ripped the Chandigarh top order with his 2/20 to set it up for Puducherry after they elected to field at the Kasiga College Ground.

Left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi (3/29) then ran through the middle-order while Sagar Trivedi (2/36) wiped out the tail to bundle out Chandigarh for 152 runs in 45.3 overs.

In reply, wicket-keeper batsman S Karthik made an unbeaten 75-ball 70 to steer Puducherry home in 26 overs. With four matches left, Puducherry now have 16 points, two points clear of Chandigarh, in the Plate Group where the toppers make the last-eight.

Uttarakhand beat Arunachal

Hosts Uttarakhand also remained in the hunt for the solitary quarterfinal spot from the Plate Group after skipper Unmukt Chand led them to an eight-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh.

Uttarakhand thus grabbed the third spot with 14 points from five matches, behind Chandigarh on net run-rate.

Electing to field, Uttarakhand bundled out Arunachal Pradesh for 199 runs in 48.4 overs, with Pradeep Chamoli claiming 4/31.

In reply, former Delhi captain Unmukt Chand slammed a 57-ball 87, while the other opener Karanveer Kaushal made a quick-fire 86 off 46 balls to help the hosts canter home in just 23.2 overs.

Assam thrash Manipur

Meanwhile, Assam (12 points from five matches) climbed to fourth spot with their massive 180-run win over Manipur at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy.

Chasing 256 runs, Manipur could not withstand the fury of Pritam Das, who trapped Al Bashid (1) and Karnajit Y (0) in front of wickets on successive balls before cleaning up Langlonyamba M on way to his hat-trick in the fourth over.

Das returned with figures of 4.4-1-5-5, while Roshan Alam claimed 5/18 as Manipur were skittled out for 75 in 24.4 overs.

Earlier, Assam were 60/2 in 10.5 overs before Gokul Sharma struck a solid 88, while Riyan Parag slammed a 64-ball 71 to prop the total to 255/7 in 50 overs. — PTI

Brief Scores

Chandigarh 152 all out in 45.3 overs (Sagar Udeshi 3/29, Vinay Kumar 2/20, Sagar Trivedi 2/36) lost to Puducherry 155/2 in 26 overs (S Karthik 70*)

Assam 255/7 in 50 overs (Gokul Sharma 88, Riyan Parag 71; Rex 4/60) beat Manipur 75 in 24.4 overs (Pritam Das 5/5, Roshan Alam 5/18)

Arunachal Pradesh 199 all out in 48.4 overs (Rahul Dalal 95; Pradeem Chamoli 4/31, Rahil Shah 2/30, Avneesh Sudha 2/31) lost to Uttarakhand 202/2 in 23.2 overs (Unmukt Chand 87, Karanveer Kaushal 86)