Jharkhand ease past Maharashtra in rain-hit match

BENGALURU: Jharkhand produced a clinical performance to ease past Maharashtra by eight wickets (VJD method) in the Vijay Hazare quarterfinals at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Monday. They will face Delhi for a spot in the final on Thursday.
In a rain-interrupted encounter, Anukul Roy stole the limelight with a four-wicket haul to restrict Maharashtra to 181 in 42.2 overs while Shasheem Rathour remained unbeaten on 53 for the winners.Jharkhand started their chase cautiously. The innings was halted for 15 minutes in the sixth over due to a light drizzle which updated the par score to 173 from 47 overs.
At 39/1 in 16 overs, Ishan Kishan and Rathour (53 n.o, 81b, 5x4) cranked up the pace of the innings to ensure they remained ahead of the par score as clouds continued to threaten the game. The 21 runs scored in the next two overs eased the pressure before Ishan departed having edged Shrikant Mundhe to wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani.
Rain returned in the 27th over with the score reading 89/2 and when play resumed 57 minutes later, the score was revised to 127 from 34 overs. With just 38 required off seven overs, Saurabh Tiwary (29 n.o.) and Rathour were up to the task.
Earlier, put in to bat, Maharashtra never looked comfortable and it was only the 76-run, fourth-wicket stand off 97 balls between Motwani (52, 73b, 5x4) and Rahul Tripathi (47, 58b, 3x4,1x6) that propped up their innings.
After Varun Aaron (2/47) struck twice to reduce Maharashtra to 72/4, the Motwani-Tripathi pair held its ground with a safe and slow innings. But once Roy (4/32) had Tripathi caught by Sumit Kumar to break the partnership, the collapse was inevitable.
Motwani stayed deep into the innings but with a rotating cast at the other end, the 27-year-old could do little to influence the flow of the game. He was on 38 when the fifth wicket fell but added just 14 runs to the cause with the next three batsmen, who cumulatively scored just 11, as Rahul Shukla cleaned up the tail.
BRIEF SCORES: Maharashtra 181 in 42.2 overs (Motwani 52, Tripathi 47; Aaron 2-47, Shukla 3-35, Roy 4-32) lost to Jharkhand 127/2 in 32.2 overs (Ishan 28, Rathour 53 n.o., Tiwary 29 n.o.) via the VJD method.