INDORE: Punjab bounced back from back-to-back defeats to beat Andhra by seven wickets in a Group B match to register their first win in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Wednesday.
Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh won the toss and sent Andhra in to bat and Siddarth Kaul (4/27) was bang on target from the word go.
Kaul got Ashwin Hebbar, centurion in the previous match against Tamil Nadu, for 1 in the fourth over. Kaul then struck a huge blow by getting the wicket of Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari (2).
A disciplined bowling effort from Punjab meant Andhra innings never had the momentum.
Kaul picked up four wickets while left-arm medium-pacer Barinder Sran took three as Andhra were bowled out for 175 in the 49th over.
Chasing the target, Mandeep starred with an unbeaten 64 (81 balls, 8 fours) to take Punjab home in 36 overs and register their first win in the tournament.
In the second match of the group, Tamil Nadu, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy winners, suffered their second defeat in the tournament after losing by 11 runs to Madhya Pradesh.
M Shahrukh Khan's attacking knock of 67 not out (77 balls, 3X4s, 5X6s) could not carry Tamil Nadu past the line in pursuit of 226-run target against Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, MP made 225 all out, thanks to captain Parth Sahani's 46 and Aditya Shrivastava's watchful 46.
In the third game of the group, Jharkhand beat Vidarbha by three wickets to top the standings with three wins from as many games.
Jharkhand scrambled home in the final over, thanks to Bal Krishna's 11-ball 21 (2X4s, 1X6) to get over the line in the high-scoring match.
Chasing 289, Kumar Deobrat (100, 103 balls, 12X4s, 4X6) did the star turn for Jharkhand.