Samarth's 70 guides UP to five-wicket victory over MP, Andhra too win

Samarth Singh hit an 87-ball 70 as Uttar Pradesh's top-order fired in unison to notch up a five-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh in a group B match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Sunday.

Samarth emerged as the top-scorer for UP as he added 105 runs with Aksh Deep Nath (51) after openers Abhishek Goswami (31) and Upendra Yadav (45) gave the team a superb start with a 76-run partnership at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

Priyam Garg later blasted a 42-ball unbeaten 50 to take the team home, scoring 280 for 5 in 49.3 overs.

Earlier, Madhya Pradesh posted a competitive 277 for 7 in 50 overs, riding on superb innings by Venkatesh Iyer (83), Yash Dubey (66) and skipper Naman Ojha (53).

In another group B match, DB Prashanth Kumar (71) slammed a strokeful fifty to guide Andra Pradesh to a six-wicket win over Saurashtra at Airforce Complex ground here.

Electing to bat, Saurashtra could manage only 214 for 7 in their 50 overs, courtesy contributions from AV Vasavada (55), Perak Mankad (32) and Chirag Jani (40).

Chasing the target, Andhra lost their first wicket early but Prashanth laid the foundation with an 83-ball fifty, while B Sumanth (43 not out), opener KS Bharat (34), Ricky Bhui (33) produced useful innings to take them home with nine balls to spare.

Brief Score (Group B):
Madhya Pradesh 277-7 in 50 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 83, Yash Dubey 66; Shiva Singh 49/2, Amit Mishra 2/64). Uttar Pradesh 280-5 in 49.3 overs (Samarth Singh 70, Aksh Deep Nath 51; Saransh Jain 3/29)