BENGALURU: Last season's runners-up Vidarbha produced a disciplined all-round performance to beat Delhi by 76 runs and enter their second successive semifinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Tuesday. Vidarbha will face Karnataka in a repeat of last season's final on Thursday, while Saurashtra will take on Punjab in the second semifinal on Friday.
Put in at the Centre of Excellence 2, Vidarbha recovered well from an early wobble to post a competitive 300 for nine, with Yash Rathod returning to form with a top score of 86 and opener Atharva Taide contributing 62, his second successive half-century.
In reply, Delhi who were playing without Ayush Badoni, who is on national duty, and the injured Rishabh Pant, were bowled out for 224 in 45.1 overs.
Seamer Nachiket Bhute led the attack with 4/51 from 7.1 overs, first breaking the top order and then returning to remove Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini in successive overs to end the chase.
Left-arm spinner and skipper Harsh Dubey was also impressive with 3/36 from nine overs, while new-ball bowler Praful Hinge chipped in with 2/54. Wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat fought a lone battle for Delhi with a patient 66 off 98 balls, but it was not enough as their campaign ended in the quarter-finals.
Meanhwile, Punjab's batters fired in unison to set up a strong base for the bowlers to complete a crushing 183-run win over Madhya Pradesh in the other quarterfinal here. Asked to bat first, Punjab were well served by skipper Prabhsimran Singh's 86-ball 88, Anmolpreet Singh's 62-ball 70, Nehal Wadhera's 56 off 38 deliveries, and Harnoor Singh's 51 off 71 balls as the side posted an imposing 345 for six in the quarterfinal. Earlier, Ramandeep Singh blazed away to a 24 off 15 balls toward the end as Punjab closed in on the 350-mark. In reply, MP were bowled out for 162 in 31.2 overs.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 300/9 in 50 ovs (Yash Rathod 86, Atharva Taide 62; Ishant Sharma 2/47, Nitish Rana 2/19) bt Delhi 224 in 45.1 ovs (Anuj Rawat 66; Nachiket Bhute 4/51, Harsh Dubey 3/36); Punjab: 345/6 in 50 ovs (Prabhsimran Singh 88, Anmolpreet Singh 70, Nehal Wadhera 56, Harnoor Singh 51) bt Madhya Pradesh: 162 in 31.2 ovs (Rajat Patidar 38; Sanvir Singh 3/31.)
