Delhi, Maharashtra enter semifinals

Chennai, Jan 16 (UNI) Delhi and Maharashtra stormed into the semifinals of the under-19 knock out tournament for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy here today.

While Delhi chased down a big target of 311 runs to defeat Jharkhand by eight wickets, Mumbai defeated Bengal by six wickets.

Put into bat, Jharkhand, riding on a stroke-filled century by Ishank Jaggi (115, 128 balls, 12x4) and a scintillating half century by Saurabh Tiwari (71, 57 balls, 2x4, 6x6) notched up an impressive 310 for nine in 50 overs.

These two added 99 for the third wicket in 15.1 overs. Keshav Kumar (39, 40 balls, 2x4, 1x6) chipped in with a good score.

Undeterred by the imposing total, Delhi batsmen played positively and successfully overhauled the total to enter the last four.

Tarun Chaudhary set the tone for the run chase hammering 11 fours and three sixes in his 56-ball 75. Anoop Jain too joined the run feast hitting six fours and a six in his 49-ball 46.

Carrying it forward, Yogesh Nagar struck a whirlwind 79 (65 balls, 8x4, 1x6) and added 118 for the fourth wicket in 21.1 overs with Hemant Singh 49 (71 balls, 2x4) before the lower order batsmen pressed home the advantage, after a nerve-wracking final over.

Delhi required three runs off the last over bowled by medium pacer Varun Aaron, who nearly pulled off a win for Jharkhand. After a first ball wide, he bowled four dot balls to Karan Harit (six not out), before the batsman ran for a legbye off the fifth ball.

Requiring one run off the final ball, Pradeep Sangran (16 not out) hit the match winning boundary to seal the fate of Jharkhand.

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