Ranchi, Nov 17 (Cricket News) Anustup Majumdar hit an unbeaten ton as Bengal romped to an eight-wicket win over Pondicherry in a Group E match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Thursday.

Maharashtra, on the other hand, defeated Mumbai by 21 runs despite a fine knock of 142 by the highly rated Yashasvi Jaiswal.

In the Bengal-Pondicherry match, the former won the toss and elected to field. Bowlers Geet Puri (3/24) and Shahbaz Ahmed (3/25) did a fine job to help dismiss the opposition for 197 in 43.2 overs.

Right-handed batter Majumdar (100 not out, 106 balls, 14 fours, 1 six) was involved in a 117-run second wicket partnership with captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (56) to set up a solid platform.

He and the experienced Manoj Tiwary (32 not out) then saw the team home in the 40th over.

In the other match, Maharashtra had posted 342 for 2 on the back of 137-ball 156 by Rahul Tripathi (18 fours, 2 sixes) and Pavan Shah's 84.

It was Maharashtra's third straight win in the competition and takes the team to 12 points, the same as Railways which has played one game more.

In another match, Railways posted a big 103-run win over Services for their third victory.

Shivam Chaudhary with an innings of 125 (126 balls, 10 fours, 4 sixes) and Mohammad Saif (86) played key roles for the Railways.

Brief scores: Railways 347 for 6 in 50 overs (Shivam Chaudhary 125 (126 balls, 10X4, 4X6), Mohammad Saif 84, Vivek Singh 48, Karn Sharma 40) beat Services 244 in 42.2 overs (Ravi Chauhan 65, Amit Pachhara 54, S G Rohilla 48, Rajat Paliwal 46) by 103 runs. Railways: 4 points, Services: 0.

Maharashtra 342 for 2 in 50 overs (Rahul Tripathi 156 (137 balls, 18X4, 2X6), Pavan Shah 84 (104 balls, 7X4, 2X6), Azim Kazi 50 not out) beat Mumbai 321 all out in 49 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 142 (135 balls, 14X4, 4X6), Armaan Jaffer 32, Prithvi Shaw 32, Satyajit Bachhav 6/46) by 21 runs. Maharashtra: 4 points, Mumbai: 0.

Pondicherry 197 all out in 43.2 overs (Paras Dogra 63, KB Arun Karthick 34, Shahbaz Ahmed 3/25, Geet Puri 3/4) lost to Bengal 202 for 2 in 39 overs (Anustup Majumdar 100 not out (106 balls, 14X4, 1X6), Sudip Kumar Gharami 56, Manoj Tiwary 32 not out) by eight wickets. Bengal: 4 points, Pondicherry: 0. 

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News Source : PTI