Faiz Fazal AFP
Faiz Fazal AFP

Faiz Fazal returned to form with a stellar century as Ranji champions Vidarbha routed Hyderabad by 237 runs for a hat-trick of wins in the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-day cricket competition here today.

The left-handed opener overcame a string of poor scores with a 97-ball 103 (9×4, 3×6) before the duo of Ravi Jangid (81 from 62 balls; 6×4, 3×6) and Apoorv Wankhade (66 from 43 balls; 3×4, 5×6) took charge of the proceedings to propel Vidarbha to a huge 350/6 after they opted to bat.

In reply, Hyderabad folded for 113 in 34.2 overs with Karn Sharma returning figures of 3/38 while Shrikant Wagh claimed 2/20, as the home side suffered its first defeat from three matches.

With three wins in a row, Vidarbha led Group D table with 12 points, while the home side remained second with eight points.

In other matches, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir secured their first wins respectively, to remain in contention.

Parvez Rasool led from the front with an unbeaten 67 (80 balls; 3×4, 2×6) and he along with Shubham Pundir (55 from 47 balls; 7×4) steered them to a stunning six-wicket win over a star-studded Saurashtra with an over to spare at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad.

Chasing 268, opener Ahmed Bandy gave Jammu & Kashmir a fine start with a 66-ball 65 (11×4, 1×6) before Rasool and Pundir combined together for a matchwinning 98-run fourth- wicket stand.

Ravindra Jadeja returned wicketless with 59 from his full quota, while IPL’s costliest Indian buy, Jaydev Unadkat, also finished without a wicket conceding 57 from his nine overs.

Earlier, Saurashtra were struggling at 131/5 after their star players Robin Uthappa (20 from 29 balls; 2×4), Cheteshwar Pujara (27 from 64 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (13 from 30b; 1×4) were dismissed cheaply.

Arpit Vasavada revived their innings with an 85 not out from 73 balls (1×4, 6×6). He along with Prerak Mankad (67 from 48 balls; 5×4, 2×6) took them to a challenging 267/6.

At the AOC Centre Thapar Stadium in Secunderabad, Ishan Kishan came up with a captain’s knock of 106 from 75 balls (13×4, 4×6) to power Jharkhand to a five-wicket win over Services with 115 balls to spare.

Brief Scores:

Vidarbha 350/6; 50 overs (Faiz Fazal 103, Ravi Jangid 81, Apoorv Wankhade 66; Ravi Teja 2/53) beat Hyderabad 113; 34.2 overs (Karn Sharma 3/38, Shrikant Wagh 2/20) by 237 runs.

Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad: Saurashtra 267/6; 50 overs (Arpit Vasavada 85 not out, Prerak Mankad 67; Waseem Raza 2/45) lost to Jammu & Kashmir 269/4; 49 overs (Parvez Rasool 67 not out, Ahmed Bandy 65, Shubham Pundir 55; Kamlesh Makvana 3/36) by six wickets.

AOC Centre Thapar Stadium, Secunderabad: Services 202/9; 50 overs (Hardik Sethi 66; Varun Aaron 3/20, Anukul Roy 2/26) lost to Jharkhand 203/5; 30.5 overs (Ishan Kishan 106, Saurabh Tiwary 56; Vikas Yadav 2/23) by five wickets.