Vijay Hazare quarter finalists decided - Yuvraj Singh masterclass sends Mumbai crashing out in dramatic Group A

Yuvraj Singh's highest score of the tournament came when Punjab needed it the most

The quarter-final line-up of the 2015 Vijay Hazare Trophy has been decided, with six teams making their way through to the knockout stages as a result of the action on Friday.

There were a lot of emotions running through all the matches being played simultaneously across the country on Friday – but at the end, some like Yuvraj Singh got to race jubilantly to their teammates after winning knocks, and some like Shreyas Iyer had to take their exit from India’s domestic one-day season with head hung low, despite performing well.

The most exciting matches of the day, which went down to the wire, were three Group A matches, involving Mumbai, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu were the first team to go through from Group A, courtesy of a thumping 252-run win over Rajasthan, one of the most convincing in their team’s history. Batting first, the team from the south rampaged their way to 384/7, the highest ever List A score recorded by Tamil Nadu.

Dinesh Karthik and Baba Aparajith scored centuries for TN, and there were devastating cameos played by Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin. Vijay, batting at No.5 in preparation for a new ODI role, smashed 3 sixes and 6 fours on way to a 44-ball 74. Ashwin played a brisk 7-ball knock of 18 in the end, edging his team over the historic mark. TN’s previous highest score had been 379.

Rahil Shah was TN’s most successful bowler with figures of 6/37, as Rajasthan capitulated in reply, failing miserably to keep up with the scoring rate. Ashwin, incidentally, was called upon to bowl only one over, in which he conceded 8 runs.

Yuvraj, Harbhajan steal Mumbai’s spot

Mumbai carved out a comfortable victory over Hyderabad, as expected, but turned their eyes immediately towards Punjab’s match against Services, where Yuvraj Singh was playing his heart out, leading his team heroically to the knockout stages. If Punjab won, Mumbai had no chance of going through.

Punjab had been set a sizeable target of 324 in 50 overs, but their talisman Yuvraj was up to the task. He blazed his way to a 83-ball 98, laced with 8 fours and 4 sixes. There was heartbreak in store though, as he fell short of a well-deserved century by just 2 runs, leaving his team the tricky task of bringing up 54 runs in the last 9 overs.

There were a lot of flutters, but with one over to spare, and three wickets in hand, Harbhajan Singh, with a well-timed 8-ball 16, took his team to victory.

The bigger heartbreak of the evening had been reserved for Mumbai.

Yuvraj has been in sparkling form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, finishing among the top 3 run-getters of the round robin stage, despite having played one match less than the others. The 98 was his highest score though, and clamours for his recall to the national team are only set to get louder. The selectors meet to announce the squad for the Australia tour on Saturday.

Defending champions knocked out despite huge win

In Group B, defending champions Karnataka had a big 207-run victory over J&K, with a century from CM Gautam, but were still eliminated as a convincing 7-wicket win was also claimed by Gujarat. With Jharkhand already having made it through from this group, Gujarat will be the ones joining them.

In Group C, Delhi rode on Unmukt Chand’s ton to make their way through to the last 8, claiming a 9-wicket win over Andhra.

Vidarbha crafted a win patiently against Maharashtra in a low-scoring match, to join Delhi from the group.

Suresh Raina’s Uttar Pradesh had already made their way into the last 8 from Group D, and the second spot in this group was decided in a winner-take-all humdinger between Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It looked like Rishi Dhawan’s 117* had sealed the match in HP’s favour, but the match was decided only after some dogged resistance from MP. Himachal eventually won by 41 runs.

The quarter-final matches will be played at Bangalore from next Wednesday onwards, with the final match slated for Sunday.

Qualified Teams – Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Delhi, Vidarbha, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh

Yuvraj Singh in last 5 #VijayHazareTrophy matches 93, 36, 36, 78*, 98 Today https://t.co/V32nhcJgxO

— #BringBackYuvi (@YuviSupporters) December 18, 2015