Chandigarh pull off thrilling chase against Haryana

Kolkata, February 21

Rahul Tewatia celebrated his maiden India call-up with a 39-ball 73 but his effort went in vain as Chandigarh secured a thrilling three-wicket win over Haryana in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Group E opener here today.

Tewatia, who was named in the India T20I squad for the five-match series against England, clobbered six sixes and four fours.

Chandigarh skipper Manan Vohra led a stiff 300-run chase with a 120-ball 117 before Ankit Kaushik provided the finishes touches with his brisk 78 from 66 balls. Chandigarh completed the chase with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Haryana got off to a solid start with a 102 by Himanshu Rana. Chandigarh’s bowlers fought back to trigger a middle-order collapse before Haryana rode on Tewatia’s strong finish to post a challenging 299/9 from their stipulated 50 overs. Jagjit Singh (3/36) was the most successful bowler for Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, Bengal opened their campaign with a comprehensive 70-run win over Services.

In Jaipur, Prithvi Shaw’s blistering 105 set up Mumbai’s seven-wicket win over Delhi in an Elite Group D match. In another Group D game, Maharashtra beat Himachal Pradesh by 59 runs. — PTI

Brief scores: Haryana 299/9 (Rana 102, Tewatia 73; Jagjit 3/36); Chandigarh 300/7 (Vohra 117, Kaushik 78*); Maharashtra 295/8 (Gaikwad 102; Arora 4/45); Himachal Pradesh 236 (Rana 46; Hangargekar 4/42).