Goa upset TN, Girinath's 6/24 helps Andhra down MP in Vijay Hazare tournament

Swapnil Asnodkar cracked 103 as Goa stunned southern powerhouse Tamil Nadu by four wickets, while P. Girinath Reddy (6/24) played a big hand in Andhra Pradesh's six-wicket victory over Madhya Pradesh in Group C of the Vijay Hazare 2018 50-overs tournament opener here on Tuesday.

Baba Aparajith (52), Murali Vijay (51) and KM Gandhi (43) provided a solid foundation for Tamil Nadu but a middle-order batting collapse saw them bowled out for 210, thanks to Darshan Misal (3/42) and Srinivas Fadte (3/51). During the chase, Asnodkar, who used to play for IPL outfit Rajasthan Royals, steered the Goans to the upset win with four wickets and 3.4 overs to spare.

In the other match, right-arm medium pacer Girinath's six wickets helped Andhra bowl out MP for 184 in 44.2 overs. Riding on Hanuma Vihari (61), K. Ashwin Hebbar (42), and D. Ravi Teja (33 not out), Andhra chased down the total with six wickets and 11.1 overs to spare.

In another Group C contest, Siddhesh Lad's 129 powered Mumbai to 317/8. Chasing the total, Gujarat fell short by 41 runs despite good batting from captain Priyank Panchal (89) and Bhargav Merai's 64. Left-arm medium paceer Royston Dias took four wickets for 64, while fellow medium pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Shivam Malhotra bagged two wickets each.

In Group D matches in Hyderabad, the hosts hammered Jharkhand by 66 runs, while Vidarbha crushed Jammu and Kashmir by 73 runs.

K. Rohit Rayudu's 126 and Bavanaka Sandeep's 69 gave Hyderabad a big total of 333/7 against Jharkhand, who were then bowled out for 267 in 46.5 overs. Atul Singh Surwar (58), captain Ishan Kishan (51) and Sourabh Tiwary (49) came up with vital knocks but M. Ravi Kiran (2/41), Mohammed Siraj (2/51) and Mehdi Hasan (2/65) were able to halt Jharkhand's bid.

In the other match, Ganesh Satish's 94 lifted Vidarbha to 245 all out in 48.2 overs. J&K were bowled out for 172, despite Ram Dayal's 55 and Bandeep Singh's 53. Shrikant Wagh (3/26), Umesh Yadav (2/30), Yash Thakur (2/33) and Karn Sharma (2/35) helped the Ranji Trophy champions defend the total.

--IANS

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