U’khand miss chance to enter semi-finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy, lose to Delhi by 4 wickets

Dehradun

: Uttarakhand missed out on a chance of creating a first in its cricketing history by a whisker as the team lost to Delhi by 4 wickets in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Despite posting a formidable score of 287 in their 50-overs and dismissing Delhi's top-order batsmen cheaply, the hill state missed out on playing their first semi-final match ever in a BCCI domestic tournament.

In a nail-biting thriller, Delhi clinched the game, thanks to team's skipper Pradeep Sangwan’s unbeaten 58 runs knock and wicket-keeper Anuj Rawat’s match-winning innings of 95 runs.

Asked to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Uttarakhand once again had a great first-wicket partnership, this time of 88 runs. Young Kamal Singh scored 88 runs while skipper Kunal Chandela, who batted at the first drop, made 62 runs. Some late hitting by wicket-keeper Saurabh Rawat helped Uttarakhand post a formidable score of 287/8 in their allotted 50 overs.

Uttarakhand’s new ball pair of Samad Fallah and Akash Madhwal hunted in pairs and gave their side early breakthroughs.

But despite restricting Delhi to 84/5, Uttarakhand lost the match in the second last over thanks to the other Rawat, who also happens to be a wicket-keeper, out on the field. Delhi’s Anuj Rawat along with skipper Pradeep Sangwan stitched out an unbeaten partnership of 143 runs with Rawat being adjudged the MoM for his finisher innings of 95 runs from 85 deliveries. Sangwan managed an unbeaten 58 while middle-order batsman Nitish Rana scored 81 runs from 88 deliveries.

The win in this game would have ensured the Himalayan state reaching the semi-final stage for the first time in their cricketing history. The team will have to look forward to the next season as this loss marks the end of the current domestic cricket season for the senior men’s team.