VHT: Jurel’s unbeaten century helps UP defeat Baroda, Assam register win over Hyderabad

Rajkot, Dec 29 Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel smashed a blazing unbeaten 160 off 101 balls to power Uttar Pradesh to a commanding 54-run victory over Baroda in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group B encounter at the Sanosara Cricket Ground 'A' on Monday.

Jurel struck 15 boundaries and eight sixes as UP posted a mammoth 369/7 before dismissing Baroda for 315, despite fifties from Krunal Pandya and Shashwat Rawat, on the final ball of the match. The win earned UP four points, taking their tally to 12 after three rounds.

Jurel, batting at number three after the departure of opener Aryan Juyal for 26, reached his maiden List A century in just 78 deliveries and tore into the Baroda bowling attack. He was particularly severe on pacer Rasikh Salam, plundering him for 55 runs off 14 deliveries.

Jurel shared a crucial 131-run fourth-wicket partnership with big-hitter Rinku Singh, who contributed 63 off 67 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter has been in excellent form throughout the tournament, having scored half-centuries against Hyderabad and Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, Sibsankar Roy struck a majestic century as Assam pulled off an improbable four-wicket victory over Hyderabad at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Ground 'C'. Roy scored 112 off 109 balls, hitting 11 fours and a six, and shared a crucial 142-run third-wicket partnership with young opener Saurav Dihingia, who made 91 off 112 deliveries.

Denish Das provided late impetus with a brisk 54 off 46 balls to lay the foundation for Assam chasing 312 in a thrilling fashion. Hyderabad openers Tanmay Agarwal and Rahul Singh Gahlaut gave their side a solid start after choosing to bat. Gahlaut top-scored with 79 off 71 balls, hitting 14 fours.

Abhirath Reddy contributed 54 off 66 balls at number three, while Varun Goud's 42 and a late cameo from K. Nitesh Reddy, who smashed 53 off just 25 balls with four fours and three sixes, helped Hyderabad post 309, which wasn’t adequate to stop Assam from registering an improbable win.

On the other hand, Mukesh Kumar's maiden five-wicket haul in List A, along with Abishek Porel's brilliant 106 & Shahbaz Ahmed's superb all-round show powered Bengal to a six-wicket victory over Chandigarh.

Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 369/7 in 50 overs (Dhruv Jurel 160 not out, Rinku Singh 63; Raj Limbani 4-74) beat Baroda 315 all out in 50 overs (Krunal Pandya 82, Shashwat Rawat 60; Zeeshan Ansari 3-53, Sameer Rizvi 2-61) by 54 runs

Hyderabad 310/8 in 50 overs (Rahul Singh Gahlaut 79, Abhirath Reddy 54; Abdul Ajij Kuraishi 3-71, Sibsankar Roy 2-26) lost to Assam 314/6 in 49.3 overs (Sibsankar Roy 112, Saurav Dihingia 91; CV Milind 3-68, Varun 1-52) by four wickets

Chandigarh 319 all out in 48.2 overs (Manan Vohra 122, Sanyam Saini 67; Mukesh Kumar 5-59, Mohammed Shami 3-69) lost to Bengal 320/4 in 47.4 overs (Abishek Porel 106, Shahbaz Ahmed 76 not out; Taranpreet Singh 1-15, Nishunk Birla 1-50) by six wickets

Jammu & Kashmir 311/9 in 50 overs (Yawer Hassan 79, Qamran Iqbal 54; Yash Thakur 3-73, Yash Kadam 2-10) lost to Vidarbha 315/5 in 48.3 overs (Aman Mokhade 139, R Samarth 114; Yudhvir Singh 3-69, Auqib Nabi 2-65) by five wickets

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