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Uttar Pradesh, Baroda make semifinals

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA: Hyderabad’s decision to bat first against Baroda backfired in the quarterfinals of the all-India Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout one-day tournament here on Monday as the South Zone runner-up lost early wickets and could post only 167 in 49.3 overs. Baroda overhauled the target in 30.2 overs to move into the semifinals against either Bengal or Delhi.

Uttar Pradesh beat Himachal Pradesh by 34 runs in the other quarterfinal.

Though it looked dry, the pitch retained enough juice to aid the bowlers, especially left-arm pacer Ikram Zampawala, whose deadly first spell of 6-3-5-3 spelt doom for Arjun Yadav and his boys.

Opener D.B. Ravi Teja curbed his attacking instincts to help his team recover with a 52-run association for the fourth wicket with Anoop Pai but the two left-arm spinners Rajesh Pawar and Swapnil Singh made life miserable in the middle overs with a tight 10-over spell each. In the process Singh grabbed three wickets for 25 runs to ruin Hyderabad’s chances.

Teja 77 (137b, 6x4) made his highest score in 16 matches.

The pitch eased out when Baroda began the run chase. After opener Kedar Devdhar’s early dismissal, Shailesh Solanki and No. 3 Azhar Bilakhia took the Hyderabad bowling to the cleaners with a 72-ball 76-run partnership to help their team take charge.

If Solanki’s knock of 59 (49b, 10x4) was a gem, Bilakhia’s innings (50, 67b, 2x4, 2x6) was solid. Then, No. 4 Rakesh Solanki came in and scored a breezy 56 (57b, 4x4, 3x6) to help Baroda win with a lot to spare.

Competitive score

Uttar Pradesh struggled initially at the MBB Stadium but steadied the innings to post a competitive 210 for eight in 50 overs thanks to a workman-like 40 (66b, 5x4) by Shivkant Shukla, a fine 55 (79b, 4x4) by Ravikant Shukla and quick-fire 56 (46b, 4x2, 2x6) by Piyush Chawla.

Two quick wickets by Bhubaneswar Kumar rocket the Himachal Pradesh reply. Bhavin Thakkar came up with a solid 60 (90b, 8x4) and Ajay Mannu scored 33 (56b, 1x4, 2x6) but their efforts proved in vain.

Chawla was the pick of the bowlers with four for 41.

The scores: Hyderabad 167 in 49.3 overs (D.B. Ravi Teja 77, I. Zampawala four for 29) lost to Baroda 171 for three in 30.2 overs (S. Solanki 59, A. Bilakhia 50, R. Solanki 56).

UP 210 for eight in 50 overs (S. Shukla 40, R. Shukla 55, P. Chawla 56) bt HP 176 in 42.5 overs (B. Thakkar 60, P. Chawla four for 41).

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