Delhi pip Jharkhand in a thriller, in final

Bengaluru, October 18

Pawan Negi, batting at No. 9, scored an unbeaten 39 under intense pressure, helping Delhi pull off a thrilling two-wicket win over Jharkhand in the second semifinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Delhi meet Mumbai in the final on Saturday.

Chasing 200, Delhi were 149/8 in the 38th over before Negi and Navdeep Saini (13*) batted for almost 12 overs, sharing a match-winning 51-run stand for the ninth wicket. Negi hit five fours and one six in his gritty knock.

Unmukt Chand, who made 17 off 13 balls, began the chase with a flurry of boundaries before falling to pacer Varun Aaron, driving the ball straight to Anand Singh at point. Captain Gautam Gambhir (27), Dhruv Shorey (15) and Nitish Rana (39) got starts but could not convert them into a big score.

Jharkhand medium-pacer Anand Singh wreaked havoc by claiming three wickets as Delhi slumped from 51/1 to 87/4. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem bagged two wickets as Delhi collapsed from 123/5 to 149/8, taking Jharkhand on the verge of a famous win before Negi spoiled their party.

Earlier, Virat Singh’s half-century helped Jharkhand reach a fighting total. He stitched partnerships worth 55 and 44 with Nadeem (29) and Rahul Shukla (11) for the seventh and ninth wicket. 

At one stage, Jharkhand were struggling at 85/6 with Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya doing the damage. 

Saini took the wickets of Ishan Kishan (0), Saurabh Tiwary (6), Kumar Deobrat (3), while Khejrolia removed Anand Singh (36) and Shasheem Sanjay Rathour (5).

Brief Scores: Jharkhand: 199 all out in 48.5 overs (Virat Singh 71, Shahbaz Nadeem 29; Navdeep Saini 4/30) lost to Delhi: 200/8 in 49.4 overs (Pawan Negi 39*, Nitish Rana 39; Anand Singh 3/39) by two wickets. — PTI