Ranchi, Dec 8 (Cricket news) Opener Abhijeet Tomar struck a maiden unbeaten century to complement their bowlers' stunning effort as Rajasthan defeated Punjab by six wickets in a group E match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-dayers here on Wednesday.
Chasing 220 to win, the 26-year-old opener hit 10 fours and one six in his 118-ball unconquered 104-run knock to steer Rajasthan home with an over to spare at the JSCA International Stadium Complex here.
Rajasthan lost two quick wickets in opener Manender Singh (31) and No 3 Mahipal Lomror (0) with addition of just one run, but Tomar remained steady en route to his maiden List A century that came in four matches.
Skipper Deepak Hooda also got out cheaply for 24 as Rajasthan were reduced 115/3 inside 28 overs but Tomar found some support from Salman Khan (36).
The duo put together 87 runs for the fourth wicket to take them near to the target.
Earlier, electing to bat, Punjab found the going tough and lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 219 in 49.4 overs.
Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed did maximum damage at the death to return with 4 for 36, while Aniket Choudhary and Kamlesh Nagarkoti bagged two wickets each.
Brief Scores Punjab 219 in 49.4 overs (Gurkeerat Singh Mann 67; Khaleel Ahmed 4/36, Aniket Chaudhary 2/38, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 2/50) lost to Rajasthan 223/4 in 49 overs (Abhijeet Tomar 104 not out) by six wickets.
Assam 215/9 in 50 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 45, Riyan Parag 40; Lakshay Garg 3/37, Amulya Pandrekar 3/37) lost to Goa 219/5 in 48.3 overs (Eknath Kerkar 61 not out, Snehal Kauthankar 49) by five wickets.
Services 254/8 in 50 overs (Rajat Paliwal 50, Devender Lochab 50, Shivam Tiwari 41; Amit Mishra 2/42, Dhrushant Soni 2/47, Karn Sharma 2/43, Harsh Tyagi 2/56) beat Railways 249/9 in 50 overs (Shivam Chaudhary 49, Akshat Pandey 44; Pulkit Narang 4/42, Varun Choudhary 2/49) by five runs.
Also Read : I am 100% committed to doing my best at the Vijay Hazare Trophy – Indian cricketer Yash Nahar
News Source : PTI
