Chandigarh boys upset fancied Haryana in Vijay Hazare opener | Cricket News

CHANDIGARH: The equation was quite simple, Chandigarh needed 73 off the last 10 when skipper Manan Vohra departed after registering a well-deserved century. The onus was on Ankit Kaushik and the youngster did it in style to help the UT side open their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with a three-wicket victory over Haryana on Sunday.
Ankit mixed the right amount of caution and aggression during his unbeaten knock of 78 off 66 balls, powered by four boundaries and three sixes, to take the team over the line with three balls to spare.
Requiring 18 off the final two overs, Ankit relieved himself off the pressure by taking Haryana skipper Mohit Sharma to the cleaners twice in the penultimate over. In the final over, he dispatched Arun Chaprana over the fence for a massive six, and finished off the match with two quick singles.
Making their debut in the Elite Group, Chandigarh couldn’t have asked for a better start to their campaign and those four points from the opening match could act as a massive boost to the confidence of the side.
Earlier, skipper Manan Vohra registered his third List A century to set the tone for Chandigarh’s chase at the 22 Yards Stadium, in Kolkata. Manan smashed a valiant 117 off 120 balls, laced with 9 hits to the fence and twice over it, and more importantly anchored the ship with a couple of fruitful partnerships, before Ankit got into the act.
Besides Manan and Ankit’s heroics, Shivam Bhambri (48) and veteran stumper Uday Kaul (25) came up with valuable contributions. Coming in at No.3 Shivam was engaged in a 88-run second wicket stand with Manan, that almost took them to the three-figure mark, before Uday came in to add 54 runs for the third wicket with the captain.
Chandigarh had as many as four players making their List A debut, and among them were the pace duo of Jagjit Singh Sandhu and Mandeep Singh, who shared four wickets between them after the UT skipper asked Haryana to bat first.
The opening combo of Himanshu Rana and Arun Chaprana (50) got Haryana to a flying start of 115 runs, before the Chandigarh bowlers triggered a mini collapse of sorts with four quick blows. In no time, Haryana were reduced to 149 for 4 from a strong 115 for no loss.
But Himanshu held one end up and despite losing his partners at the other end, the opener got to a defiant 102 off 125 balls, laced with 11 fours and a six, before lower order bat Rahul Tewatia celebrated his maiden India call-up for the T20I series against England, by smoking a 39-ball 73, containing four boundaries and six sixes, to propel Haryana to a challenging 299 for 9 in their 50 overs. Stumper Rohit Sharma and Sumit Kumar came up with identical cameos of 23 each.
For Chandigarh, Jagjit (3/36) and left-arm spinner Gurinder Singh (2/50) were the pick of the bowlers, while Mandeep, Jaskaran Singh and Gaurav Gambhir chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Brief Scores
Haryana 299/9 in 50 overs: Himanshu Rana 102, Rahul Tewatia 73, Arun Chaprana 50; Jagjit Singh Sandhu 3/26, Gurinder Singh 2/50
Chandigarh 300/7 in 49.3 overs: Manan Vohra 117, Ankit Kaushik 78 not out, Shivam Bhabri 48; Sumit Kumar 2/34, Arun Chaprana 2/66, Rahul Tewatia 2/66