Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018: Punjab scrape through Delhi after Vohra, Yuvraj heroics

Pradeep Sangwan inserted Punjab after winning the toss but the opposition openers soon capitalized on the opportunity to set up a hefty total. Manan Vohra and Mandeep Singh began rapidly as Punjab crossed fifty before the end of the powerplay. Pawan Negi removed Mandeep for an 18-ball 27 and then Anmolpreet Singh cheaply in his next over, but Vohra and veteran Yuvraj Singh bashed the Delhi bowlers at will.

They struck 78 for the third wicket in under nine overs before Vohra departed for a quick 74 off 50 balls. His knock included 3 fours and 6 sixes; and thereafter, Yuvraj carried on to maintain the momentum. He remained unbeaten on 50 from 40 deliveries and hit 4 fours and a six as Punjab ended on 170/3 with Negi bagging 2/8.

In reply, Pant and another experienced campaigner Gautam Gambhir hit back with a smashing opening stand of their own. Pant hit 3 sixes and a four in 38 off 25 balls and Gambhir then found an able ally in Nitish Rana. The latter was dismissed on 29 and Himmat Singh fell for only 6, but Gambhir was standing his ground until the penultimate over in which he left after getting 66 from 54 balls.

Lalit Yadav tried his best to help Delhi touch the finish line, but economical bowling from Sandeep Sharma ensured Punjab achieved a nervous win by 2 runs.

In other matches, Himachal Pradesh comfortably defended 131 against Jammu & Kashmir while Dinesh Karthik hit 71 in Tamil Nadu's victory over Kerala.

Brief Scores:

Central Zone:

Rajasthan 150/6 in 19.5 overs (Lamba 45, Garhwal 37; Amit Mishra 3/33) beat Uttar Pradesh 146/5 in 20 overs (Dwivedi 27, Samarth 26; Tajinder 2/16)

Vidarbha 163/7 in 20 overs (Fazal 45, Wankhade 36; Mishra 2/29) beat Railways 146/9 in 20 overs (Karn 35, Rawat 22; Thakur 3/26) by 17 runs

North Zone:

?Punjab 170/3 in 20 overs (Vohra 74, Yuvraj 50*; Negi 2/8) beat Delhi 168/4 in 20 overs (Gambhir 66, Pant 38; Sandeep Sharma 1/24) by 2 runs

Himachal Pradesh 130/9 in 20 overs (Gangta 31; Rasool 2/15, Mudhasir 2/20) beat Jammu & Kashmir 97 in 17.4 overs (Dar 36; Jaiswal 4/15, Dagar 2/7) by 33 runs

South Zone:

Tamil Nadu 184/4 in 20 overs (Karthik 71, Jagadeesan 35*; Warrier 2/23) beat Kerala 149/7 in 20 overs (Baby 51, Nizar 38; Vignesh 5/25) by 35 runs

Andhra 157/3 in 18.2 overs (Bhui 46*, Hebbar 35; Binny 1/14) beat Karnataka 156/8 in 20 overs (Binny 47*; Sasikanth 3/32, Siva Kumar 2/29) by 3 wickets

Hyderabad 181/5 in 20 overs (Reddy 64, Rayudu 44; Alemao 2/35) beat Goa 162/9 in 20 overs (Kamat 47; Ravi Kiran 4/23, Hassan 2/28) by 19 runs.