Delhi crumble while chasing as Uttar Pradesh march into Vijay Hazare Trophy semis

Uttar Pradesh made it to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy as Delhi crashed out due to a poor batting effort.

Uttar Pradesh recovered well from a dismal start to set Delhi a target of 281. Delhi were never in the game while chasing. Barring a 104-run partnership between Lalit Yadav and Anuj Rawat, Uttar Pradesh’s bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals to win the match by 46 runs.

Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 280/7 (Upendra Yadav 112, Karan Sharma 83; Pradeep Sangwan 2/49, Simarjeet Singh 2/51) beat Delhi 234 all out (Lalit Yadav 61, Anuj Rawat 47; Yash Dayal 3/53, Akshdeep Nath 2/29) by 46 runs.

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Delhi made a miserable start to their chase, losing both openers in the first nine balls. Yash Dayal’s stunning first over saw him dismiss Dhruv Shorey and Hiten Dalal cheaply.

Himmat Singh and Nitish Rana settled down a bit, as they kept the dangerous duo of Shivam Mavi and Yash Dayal at bay. They scored just 37 in the first 10 overs but upped the ante after it.

Right after the duo brought up their 50-run partnership, it was time for Delhi to lose their next three wickets in quick succession. After the drinks break, Himmat Singh got a faint edge to the keeper off Aaqib Khan’s bowling.

Khan got his second in a similar manner, with Nitish Rana being the third batsman to depart as Delhi crumbled to 78/5 by the end of the 20th over.

5⃣0⃣-run stand between Anuj Rwat & Lalit Yadav 👍👍@Paytm #VijayHazareTrophy #QF3 #UPvDEL Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/CeQ0BWuGuM pic.twitter.com/7BdAt9Dec3

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 9, 2021

But just like Uttar Pradesh put together a middle-order resurgence, Delhi followed suit, courtesy of Lalit Yadav and Anuj Rawat. They kept Delhi’s hopes up with a stirring 104-run partnership, which made Uttar Pradesh anxious.

Although the duo put up runs on the board, they failed to keep the scoring rate in check. With 104 needed off the last 10 overs, Delhi decided to attack, and that brought about their downfall.

Shivam Mavi removed the dangerous Lalit Yadav for 61 as Uttar Pradesh picked up four wickets in the next five overs. Yash Dayal got his third of the day, getting Anuj Rawat out bowled.

With Delhi’s lower order falling like dominoes, the tail-enders hung around for a bit, before Akshdeep Nath wrapped up a comprehensive win for Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh recovered well to post a challenging total

ICYMI: Upendra Yadav's fantastic 112 (101) vs Delhi 👌👌The Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman creamed 11 fours & 2 sixes and went on to score a vital 112 in the #QF3 of the @Paytm #VijayHazareTrophy. 👍👍 #UPvDEL Watch that knock 🎥 👇https://t.co/joWZSfbg8S pic.twitter.com/gWIoyPbaCM

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 9, 2021

Put in to bat first, Uttar Pradesh didn’t have the best of starts, losing three wickets inside the first eight overs. Abhishek Goswami was the first to go, feathering one to the keeper while attempting a pull.

Madhav Kaushik followed his opening partner soon after, failing to make the most of a confident start that saw him smack four boundaries for his 16. He too perished to the short ball, with Kulwant Khejroliya getting his first wicket of the day.

Uttar Pradesh surprisingly didn’t hand Priyam Garg the captaincy for the game, and it went from bad to worse for the youngster after he walked back without troubling the scorers.

It was entirely the youngster’s fault though, with Garg going for a non-existent single to get off the mark. Hiten Dalal’s direct hit from mid-wicket went to the third umpire, and Garg’s fate in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-finals was sealed.

For a while, it looked like Uttar Pradesh were rebuilding, but Delhi hit back again. Anuj Rawat completed his third catch of the day, with Akshdeep Nath strangled down the leg side.

With the score being 66/4, Upendra Yadav and Karan Sharma stitched together a 129-run partnership, starting cautiously as they negotiated the tricky period. The pitch eased up a bit as the match progressed, and the Uttar Pradesh duo took full advantage of it.

Karan Sharma, who had been handed the captaincy ahead of the game, proved his doubters wrong with his first-ever fifty in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. Upendra Yadav brought up his fourth List A fifty, with a fine four towards deep mid-wicket.

Uttar Pradesh looked set to get a big total as the game reached the last ten overs. But Lalit Yadav dismissed Karan Sharma at a crucial juncture, holing one to long-on as he missed out on a well-deserved century.

Upendra Yadav didn’t suffer the same fate as his skipper, with the 24-year-old building up another crucial partnership with Sameer Chaudhary. Upendra then accelerated to bring up his maiden List A hundred in 93 balls as Uttar Pradesh ended their innings with a flourish.