Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017/18: Unmukt, Bowlers Help Delhi Start on Winning Note

Delhi kicked off their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign on a bright note, as the one-time champion team posted an easy win over Uttar Pradesh in the first game of the tournament.

Delhi hit the right notes right from the start when an under pressure Unmukt Chand and debutant, Hiten Dalal provided them with a great start. Both the openers played the new ball nicely, with Hiten keeping the flow of runs on. Unmukt took his time at the start to score his first runs.

The young duo shared 107 runs for the first wicket in 21.1 overs to give Delhi a great start. Post Hiten’s (57) dismissal, Unmukt got a safe partner in the form of Dhruv Shorey, who also took charge.

They both helped Delhi cross the 150-run mark and put on 53 runs for the second wicket.

Meanwhile, Unmukt scored his first century of the season to send a reminder. He was under pressure, as his place was not confirmed in the side but he showed signs of coming back in form.

Unmukt scored a match-winning half-century in the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy too.

Riding on Unmukt’s century and combined efforts from other batsmen, the Pradeep Sangwan led side posted a total of 307/6 on the board. It was going to be a tough score for Suresh Raina sans Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi bowlers too started off well as they gave UP early jitters and the side was three down for just 38. Umang Sharma (104) and Akshdeep Nath (54) tried to rejuvenate team’s innings, but Pawan Negi delivered at the right time by getting skipper, Akshdeep out.

From there, UP could just manage small partnerships, which just minimised the difference between two teams and in the end, UP were all out for 252, thus losing the game by 55 runs.

Kulwant Khejroliya was the star with the ball for Delhi, as he scalped four wickets for 34 runs in 8.3 overs. He was well supported by Pradeep Sangwan, who took three wickets for 28 runs in seven overs. Navdeep Saini, Manan Sharma and Pawan Negi took a wicket each.

Brief scores: Delhi 307/6 (Unmukt Chand 116, Dhruv Shorey 57; Kartik Tyagi 2-50) defeat Uttar Pradesh 252/10 (Umang Sharma 102, Akshdeep Nath 54; Kulwant Khejrolia 4-34, Pradeep Sangwan 3-28) by 55 runs.

Other scores –

Brief scores: Vidarbha 300/10 defeat Jharkhand 293/7 by seven runs.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 311/8 defeat Gujarat 235/10 by 76 runs.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 294/3 defeat Bengal 293/9 by seven wickets.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 286/7 defeat Chhattisgarh 254/9 by 32 runs.

Brief scores: Andhra Pradesh 235/4 defeat Rajasthan 229/6 by six wickets.

Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 230/4 defeat Tripura 229/9 by six wickets.

Brief scores: Mumbai 332/5 defeat Madhya Pradesh 258/10 by 74 runs.

Brief scores: Hyderabad 329/5 defeat Services 201/10 by 128 runs.

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