Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Virat Kohli-less Delhi edges past Saurashtra by three-wickets
The absence of Virat Kohli did not matter as Delhi recorded its third successive win in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, chasing down Saurashtra’s stiff 320 with three wickets to spare.
At the Alur Grounds near here on Monday, Delhi’s reply was led by opener Priyansh Arya’s belligerent half-century (78, 45b, 5×4, 6×6) before two crucial partnerships lower down the order carried the side to victory.
From 208 for five, with leader Rishabh Pant back in the hut, Tejasvi Dahiya (53, 51b, 3×4, 3×6) and Harsh Tyagi (49, 45b, 3×4, 1×6) came together for a 40-run association. Tyagi, then, combined for 69 very-important runs with Navdeep Saini (34 n.o., 29b, 2×4, 1×6) to help fashion a fine win.
Delhi’s teamwork was reflected in the fact that Arya’s 78 was the highest score and there were as many as six partnerships which were 36 runs or more.
Earlier, Saurashtra, after being asked to bat first, rode on opener Vishvaraj Sinh Jadeja’s century (115, 104b, 13×4, 1×6) and No.7 batter Ruchit Ahir’s unbeaten, breakneck 95 (65b, 7×4, 5×6) propelled the Harvik Desai-led team to a seemingly challenging score but it was not to be.
ALSO READ | Smriti Mandhana creates enduring art, even in the madness of T20 cricket
For Delhi, the bowling trio of Ishant Sharma (5-0-20-0), Saini (10-0-41-3) and Prince Yadav (10-0-64-2) came good again even as Simarjeet Singh proved expensive (10-0-86-0).
Elsewhere, Andhra fell to its second defeat in three encounters, losing to Odisha by a comprehensive six-wicket margin.
Batting first, Andhra made just 221, with middle-order batter SDNV Prasad top-scoring with 66 (64b, 6×4, 2×6). He had little support from others, and if not for No. 10 Saurabh Kumar’s 47 (26b, 3×4, 4×6), Andhra would have lost more heavily.
Ricky Bhui, after two half-centuries in two matches, suffered a downturn, making only 18. Odisha skipper Biplab Samantaray and Govinda Poddar returned identical figures of 3/36 each.
Odisha’s chase rested on a 166-run association for the third wicket between Om T. Munde (91, 111b, 7×4) and Govinda Poddar (89, 105b, 9×4), and the duo helped set up Samantaray & Co.’s second win on the bounce after the loss in the Elite Group-D opener against Saurashtra.
The scores:
At BCCI CoE: Haryana 299 in 49.4 overs (Mayank Shandilya 86, HJ Rana 57, Samant Jakhar 49) bt Gujarat 273 in 47.1 overs (Jaymeet Patel 67, Vishal B. Jayswal 51, Ravi Bishnoi 40); Toss: Gujarat.
Alur 1: Andhra 221 in 49.2 overs (SDNV Prasad 66, Saurabh Kumar 47) lost to Odisha 223/4 in 43.4 overs (Om T. Munde 91, Govinda Poddar 89); Toss: Odisha.
Alur 2: Saurashtra 320/7 in 50 overs (Vishvarajsinh Jadeja 115, Gajjar Sammar 41, Ruchit Ahir 95 no) lost to Delhi 321/7 in 48.5 overs (Priyansh Arya 78, Tejasvi Dahiya 53, Harsh Tyagi 49); Toss: Delhi.
Alur 3: Railways 365/7 in 50 overs (Pratham Singh 73, Ravi Singh 88, Ashutosh Sharma 50, Zeeshan Ali Khan 48 no) bt Services 281 in 47.2 overs (Sagar Dahiya 95, Ravi Chauhan 73); Toss:Services.
Published on Dec 29, 2025
Comments are closed.