Eklavya slams century as UP rout Himachal

Riding on an unbeaten century by Eklavya Dwivedi and his fourth wicket unbroken 152-run partnership with Rinku Singh (62), Uttar Pradesh today comprehensively defeated Himachal Pradesh by seven wickets in a Group "D" match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here.
Batting first at the SCA Stadium in Khandheri after losing the toss, Himachal Pradesh compiled 243 for 8 in 50 overs. Skipper Rishi Dhawan was the top scorer, making an unbeaten 67 off 64 balls with seven hits to the fence.
Paras Dogra (41) and Prashant Chopra (39) were the other batsmen to show some resistance against UP bowlers. Spinner Piyush Chawla took three wickets, giving away 49 runs, while medium pacer Pravin Kumar bagged two for 37.

Chasing a target of 244 runs in 50 overs, Uttar Pradesh lost Samarth Singh (6) and Umang Sharma (20) cheaply. They were in further trouble when Prashant Gupta, too, got out after making 44. Uttar Pradesh were 95 for 3 at that stage.
However, Dwivedi and Rinku then joined hands and got their team out of the troubled waters. The duo stamped their authority with some solid batting and added 152 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket.
Dwivedi made an unbeaten 104 runs, facing 127 balls, and hit 15 fours, while Rinku smashed six fours in his 74-ball 62. UP reached the victory target in 47.2 overs.

Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 243 for 8 off 50 overs (Rishi Dhawan not out 67, Paras Dogra 41, Prashant Chopra 39; Piyush Chawla 3-49) lost to Uttar Pradesh 247 for 3 off 47.2 overs (Eklavya Dwivedi 104 not out, Rinku Singh 62 not out).
Uttar Pradesh now have 4 points, while Himachal Pradesh are yet to open their account.