BENGALURU: The 150-run opening partnership between skipper
Parthiv Patel (76, 60b, 10x4, 1x6) and
Priyank Panchal (80, 91b, 8x4, 1x6) was the cornerstone of Gujarat's six-wicket win over Delhi in a rain-affected quarterfinal encounter at the Just Cricket Ground on Sunday.
A 25-minute rain delay during Delhi's innings (40th over) reduced the match to a 49-over-a-side affair, but that did nothing to stop Gujarat's dominance. After bowling out Delhi for 223, Gujarat cruised to the target in the 38th over, losing four wickets in the process.
Earlier, put in to bat, Delhi were done in by pace bowlers as Chintan Gaja (3/27) struck a twin blow removing openers Anuj Rawat (11) and
Shikhar Dhawan (0). Skipper Dhruv Shorey (91, 109b, 7x4, 2x6) ended his poor run to rebuild the innings with
Nitish Rana (33) and put on 90 runs for the second wicket but Gaja broke that stand at a crucial time. Although Rana, Himmat Singh (26) and Lalit Yadav (28) got starts they all failed to convert it, while the tail folded up in quick time.
If Delhi came up with a plan to defend the below-par total, Parthiv and Panchal blunted it early. Although, Gujarat lost some quick wickets towards the end, the foundation was already laid for a comprehensive win. Parthiv & Co will take on the winner of the quarterfinals between Tamil Nadu and Punjab.
Brief scores: Delhi 223 allout in 49 overs (Dhruv Shorey 91, Nitish Rana 33, Himmat Singh 26, Lalit Yadav 28 n.o; Chintan Gaja 3-27, Arzan Nagwaswalla 3-75, Piyush Chawala 2-40) lost to
Gujarat 225/4 in 37.5 overs (Parthiv Patel 76, Priyank Panchal 80, Dhruv Patel 34 n.o; Simarjeet Singh 2-54) by six wickets.