Vijay Hazare Trophy: Pondicherry cruise past Himachal Pradesh

CHENNAI: Pondicherry registered a 104-run win over Himachal Pradesh in their Vijay Hazare clash in Jaipur on Saturday. The architects of Pondicherry's first win in the tournament were Sheldon Jackson (104, 12x4) and left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi (4-35).
Sheldon's patient knock helped Pondicherry finish on 227-9. Pondicherry, after being inserted in, got off to the worst possible start as they slipped to 19 for 4 in the 7th over.Rishi Dhawan (4-44) troubled Pondicherry's top-order as he accounted for S Karthik (4), skipper D Rohit (5) and Paras Dogra (0). However, the experienced Jackson, who arrived at the crease in the second over, turned things around for Pondicherry. His 102-run stand with Sagar Trivedi (51) for the sixth wicket changed the complexion of the contest. Their 134-ball partnership helped Pondicherry sail through the tough period of play. Once Sagar departed in the 37th over, Jackson partnered with Premraj Rajavelu (26) to ensure that the side crossed the 200-run mark.
A target of 228 wasn't a threatening one but Himachal with the bat looked out of sorts. Opener Abhimanyu Rana (27) and Nikhil Gangta (25) were the only batsmen who got off to starts but they couldn't go on to capitalize on it. Medium-pacers Sagar (1-21) and Ashith Rajiv (2-11) got rid of Himachal's top-3 before the slow-ball bowlers took centre-stage. Left-arm spinners Sagar Udeshi and Kannan Vignesh making his list-A debut never allowed the Himachal batsmen to get their eye in. While Sagar was the wrecker-in-chief, Kannan shone with figures of 3 for 30. Himachal's chase concluded in the 35th over as they were bowled out for 123.
Pondicherry, who are already out of the race for the knockouts, will play their last league clash against Maharashtra on Monday.
Brief scores: Pondicherry 227-9 in 50 overs (Sheldon Jackson 104; Rishi Dhawan 4-44). Himachal Pradesh 123 in 34.5 overs (Sagar Udeshi 4-35, Kannan 3-30). Pondicherry won by 104 runs.