Patidar blitzkrieg helps MP beat Goa; Andhra hands TN fourth

Rajat Patidar continued his strong form, hammering an unbeaten 124 off 85 balls to power Madhya Pradesh to a crushing eight-wicket win over Goa today with 24.2 overs to spare in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group 'C' League here.

Andhra, meanwhile, piled more misery on defending champions Tamil Nadu, posting a 29-run win. It was the host's fourth straight loss in the tournament.

Chasing a modest 221 for victory, Patidar seemed to carry on from where he left against Tamil Nadu (in which he scored 158) and toyed with the Goa attack at the M A Chidambaram stadium, hitting 13 fours and hoisting seven sixers.
 

Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha had set the tempo for MP with a quickfire 50 (26 balls, 4X4, 4X6) in an opening stand of 81 to put the team on road to victory.

Earlier, Goa couldn't capitalise on Swapnil Asnodkar's strokeful knock of 85 (96 balls, 10X4, 1X6) and collapsed to 220 all out in 48.3 overs from 133 for 2.

Sohraab Dhaliwal and Anshul Tripathi took three wickets each for MP.

In the Andhra-Tamil Nadu game, the former rode on half centuries from opener K S Bharat (82), B Sumanth (62 not out) and Ricky Bhui (52) to post a competitive 276 for 6 in 50 overs.

In reply, Tamil Nadu could only muster 247 in 48.5 overs with only J Kousik (56) getting a half-century.

In another match, Gujarat thumped Team Rajasthan by seven wickets, romping to a win in 33.2 overs after bowling out its rival for 172 in 47.3 overs.

Priyank Panchal scored 55 before being run-out and guided the chase after skipper Parthiv Patel, who returned to the side after missing the first three matches, fell for a duck.

Brief scores: Goa 220 all out in 48.3 overs (Swapnil Asnodkar 85, Sohraab Dhaliwal 3 for 33, A Tripathi 3 for 40) lost to Madhya Pradesh 223 for 2 in 25.4 overs (Rajat Patidar 124 not out, Naman Ojha 50). Points: MP:4; Goa: 0.

Team Rajasthan 172 all out in 47.3 overs (M K Lomror 63, Piyush Chawla 3 for 44) lost to Gujarat 176 for 3 in 33.2 overs (Priyank Panchal 55, Bhargav Merai 41 not out, Dhruv Raval 40). Points: Gujarat: 4; Rajasthan: 0.

Andhra Pradesh 276 for 6 in 50 overs (K S Bharat 82, B Sumanth 62 not out, Ricky Bhui 52, Rahil Shah 2 for 39) beat Tamil Nadu 247 all out in 48.5 overs (J Kousik 56, N Jagadeesan 40, B Ayyappa 2 for 37). Points: Andhra: 4; TN: 0.