VIJAY HAZARE - Kedar mauls helpless Delhi

CUTTACK: His strokes were precise and powerful. The footwork nimble and neat. On a sunny Tuesday morning at the beautiful DRIEMS ground in Tangi, Kedar Jadhav wreaked havoc on a pedestrian Delhi attack in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to carve out a blitzkrieg 113 off just 64 balls as Maharashtra emerged defeated Delhi by 195 runs.
Jadhav had spent years honing his batting skills in the domestic arena before cutting ice at the international stage, and on a flat wicket, the right-hander was at his aggressive best.Walking in at No. 4, the Maharashtra skipper who had lost the toss looked in no discomfort whatsoever as he kick-started his innings with a picture-perfect cover drive.Picking the gaps with precision, Jadhav took a special liking for the left-arm spinning duo of Pawan Negi and Manan Sharma, regularly depositing their offerings outside the ground. First in the company of Naushad Shaikh and then Nikhil Naik, the 31-year-old flayed the Delhi bowlers to all parts of the field even as Rishabh Pant was made to rue his decision of opting to field first on a batting paradise.
While Negi and Sharma suffered most, even veteran Ashish Nehra, brought back for his second spell after an initial burst of five overs, could not restrict the flow of runs. Short balls were either pulled or cut with disdain. Pant's problems compounded when Nehra left the field in the 27th over, due to a strain on his right leg, not bowling again.
The Delhi skipper, all of 19 years, looked bereft of ideas as Jadhav continued to feast on the Navdeep Sainis and the Nitish Ranas.
Dhoni-led Jharkhand cruise Kalyani (West Bengal):
Fans who turned up to watch a M S Dhoni special returned disappointed even as Jharkhand cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Services for their second victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Tuesday . Chasing a stiff 277, Jharkhand did not require services of their captain `cool' as Saurabh Tiwary (102 not out off 103 balls; 3x4, 6x6) and Ishank Jaggi (116 not out off 92 balls; 10x4, 4x6) put together an unbroken 214-run partnership to script a fluent chase with 22 balls to spare. He may not have played a role with the bat but Dhoni's tips during the drinks break played a big role in their win, Jaggi later revealed.
Brief Scores Maharashtra 3678 in 50 overs (K Jadhav 113, N Naik 63, N Shaikh 52; K Khejroliya 2-35) bt Delhi 172 in 33.4 overs (G Gambhir 53; J Zope 5-19). Maharashtra won by 195 runs.