Uttarakhand pip Assam to enter knockout round of Vijay Hazare Trophy

Uttarakhand thrashed Sikkim by 145 runs on Monday to remain unbeaten in the Plate group of the Vijay Hazare Trophy national 50-overs tournament, and clinch a spot in the knockout phase

Uttarakhand thrashed Sikkim by 145 runs on Monday to remain unbeaten in the Plate group of the Vijay Hazare Trophy national 50-overs tournament here, and clinch a spot in the knockout phase, pipping Assam by virtue of a better net run-rate.

Assam completed its engagements with a crushing 182-run win over Mizoram.

Both Uttarakhand and Assam finished with an all-win record but the former qualified for the next stage due to a higher NRR (3.273) as against the latter's 1.909.

Meghalaya edged Nagaland to the third spot by virtue of a superior NRR despite securing 16 points. They were followed by Sikkim (4 points), Arunachal Pradesh (2), Mizoram (2) and Manipur (0).

Sent in to bat by Sikkim, Uttarakhand openers Kamal Singh (119, 121 balls, 16X4s) and Jay Bista (54, 67 balls, 3X4s, 2X6s) raised 133 runs for the first wicket before the latter fell to Varun Sood.

Kamal Singh added 55 runs for the second wicket with skipper Kunal Chandela (25) and 28 for the third wicket with Saurabh Rawat before being dismissed. The rest of the batting line-up could not build on the strong platform and Uttarakhand finished at 306 for eight in 50 overs.

Sikkim was never in the hunt with their batsmen not showing any urgency and ended up posting 161 for six in 50 overs. Nilesh Lamichaney batted 122 balls for his 58 (5 fours).

In another game, Assam piled up 342 for eight in 50 overs, riding on enterprising knocks by Saahil Jain (86, 47 balls, 9 fours, four sixes), Denish Das (85, 94 balls, 12 fours) and Sibsankar Roy (56).

Mukthar Hussain (4/20) and Gokul Sharma (3/21) shone with the ball as Assam bowlers out Mizoram for 160 in 43.5 overs.

Brief scores: Assam 342 for 8 in 50 overs (Saahil Jain 86, Denish Das 85, Sibsankar Roy 56' Pratik Desai 3/63) beat Mizoram 160 all out in 43.5 overs (Taruwar Kohli 68, K B Pawan 33; Mukhtar Hussain 4/20, Gokul Sharma 3/21) by 182 runs. Assam: 4 points, Mizoram: 0.

Meghalaya 303 for 8 in 50 overs (Abhay Negi 56, Sanjay Yadav 46, D B Ravi Teja 45, Rohit Shah 44) beat Manipur 220 all out in 48.4 overs (Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 83, Narsingh Yadav 36; Sanjay Yadav 4/20) by 83 runs. Meghalaya: 4 points, Manipur: 0.

Uttarakhand 306 for 8 in 50 overs (Kamal Singh 119, Jay Bista 54, Mayank Mishra 32 not out' Varun Sood 3/41) beat Sikkim 161 for 6 in 50 overs (Nilesh Lamichaney 58, Ashish Thapa 38) by 145 runs. Uttarkhand: 4 points, Sikkim: 0.

Arunachal Pradesh 285 for 9 in 50 overs (Rahul Dalal 138 not out, Vipin Dhaka 56; Shrikant Mundhe 4/64) lost to Nagaland 287 for 3 in 42.1 overs (Rongsen Jonathan 113, Shrikant Mundhe 102, Stuart Binny 55 not out) by seven wickets. Nagaland: 4 points, Arunachal: 0.