Patel leads Gujarat to maiden Vijay Hazare title

Captain Parthiv Patel's polished 109 helped Gujarat hammer former champions Delhi by 139 runs and capture their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy here today.
Patel powered Gujarat to 273 for nine before their medium pacers R P Singh (4/42) and Jasprit Bumrah (5/28) brought the star-studded Delhi batting to its knees, dismissing the 2013-13 winners for 134 in 32.3 overs.
The start to the chase could not have been worse Delhi, who lost Rishabh Pant off the first ball of the match before seeing the back of Shikhar Dhawan (5) and skipper Gautam Gambhir (9).
There was a glimmer of hope as long as Unmukt Chand (33) was in the middle but that was also dashed with his dismissal in the 17th over, leaving Delhi derailed at 59 for five. Off-spinner Pawan Negi delayed the inevitable with a fighting 57 off 47 balls.

Earlier, Patel led from the front to take Gujarat to a competitive total at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after Delhi decided to field. The other contributions came from Rujul Bhatt (60) and Chiran Gandhi (44 not out).
Patel's plucky innings last 119 balls and was laced with 10 fours and a six.

He was handed a reprieve when he was dropped on 67 by Manan Sharma off his own bowling after he drove straight into the hands of the left-arm spinner. Patel eventually fell to Pawan Negi before the final 10 overs began.
Bhatt, whose knock was also crucial, was removed by Nitish Rana with Pant taking the catch. His 60 runs came off 74 balls and included four boundaries and a six, which he hammered into the deep midwicket stand.

The loss of last five wickets in the slog overs, including Rush Kalaria's (21), arrested Gujarat's progress though Gandhi played a useful knock towards the end.
After finishing second in their Group, Gujarat got the better of Vidarbha in the quarterfinals before they surprised four-time champions Tamil Nadu in the semifinals.
(REOPENS DEL 58)
Chasing a 274-run target, Delhi began horrifically, losing four wickets in 11th over with India discard RP Singh claiming all of them.
In the very first delivery of Delhi innings, Singh removed Rishabh Pant whose stumps were knocked down by a swinging delivery.
Singh in his third over sent back Dhawan who drove straight into the hands of short cover where M C Juneja was stationed.

Singh picked up his third wicket by sending back Gambhir after the Delhi skipper edged one to Bhatt, standing in first slip as the TV umpires took some time to give marching orders to the Delhi captain.
In his next over, Singh struck again trapping Milind Kumar plumb in front for nought, leaving Delhi struggling at 31 for four in 10.1 overs.
Unmukt Chand, who came into the match with a magnificent unbeaten 80 against Himachal Pradesh in semifinal, stayed on at the other end watching his compatriots walking back to the pavilion.
Chand showed signs of waging a lone battle, but fell to Jasprit Bumhrah. The inform batsman edged in an inward moving ball onto his middle stump, which split into two, prompting the umpire to call for a new one.

Manan Sharma was unfortunately runout for two after his sliding bat was found short of the crease.
Delhi were precariously perched at 65 for six requiring 209 runs from 30 overs, an improbable task with tailenders around.