Arjit's daredevilry helps Rajasthan start on winning note

JAIPUR: Reduced to four for 37 in five overs, Arjit Gupta's daredevil show pulled Rajasthan out of the precarious situation, helping them defeat Vidarbha by three wickets in a Group D match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Emerald Heights International School Ground in Indore on Monday.
Chasing a paltry 104, Ashok Menaria & Co looked as fragile as Vidarbha and at one stage it appeared the match would slip out of Rajasthan's grip.When the right-hand bat came out to bat at number seven, Rajasthan required 51 more runs to win from 65 balls. The task looked daunting because the team had hardly any wickets in hand. Unperturbed by the situation, Gupta put up a solo show with a whirlwind unbeaten knock of 41 off 23 balls that was laced with four sixes and two fours. Seamer Deepak Chahar added crucial 10 off 10 balls as he joined hands with Gupta in the rescue act. Rajasthan won the game in 14.3 overs.
Earlier, after winning the toss Menaria chose to bowl first and the bowlers made hay on a fresh pitch. But the first wicket that fell on the very first delivery was a result of a mix-up that saw Jitesh Sharma walk back to the pavilion and on the fourth ball of the very over saw Deepak bringing the second breakthrough. Atharva Taide (4 off 3 balls) holed out at the second slip to Mahipal Lomror and in no time Vidarbha was two down. The seamer struck again in his second over as Vidarbha's Rushabh Rathore's (2 off 5 balls) edge flew straight to wicketkeeper Manender Singh. With Vidarbha's scoreline reading 3-7 in 2.1 overs, Rahul Chahar joined his brother in inflicting further damage. The duo finished with three wickets apiece while left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary and wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi chipped in with two and one wickets each.
Rajasthan will next take on Madhya Pradesh on January 13.
Important Scores:
Vidarbha 104 all out in 19.3 overs (S Watch 31; D Chahar 3-10, R Chahar 3-27) lost to Rajasthan 106/7 in 14.3 overs (A Gupta 43*, D Nalkande 4-20, A Wakhare 3-33) by 3 wickets.
Delhi 206/4 in 20 overs (N Rana 74, H Singh 53; S Mulani 2/43) won against Mumbai 130 in 18.1 overs (S Dube 63; P Sangwan 3-20, I Sharma 2-16) by 76 runs.
Andhra Pradesh 107/6 in 20 overs (R Bhui 39; KS Bharat 23; J Yadav 2/13; Y Chahal 2/21) lost to Haryana 108/4 in 15.5 overs (CK Bishnoi 42*; SR Chauhan 35; N Reddy 1-4) by six wickets.