Opening batsman Sheldon Jackson and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja hit scintillating centuries as Saurashtra defeated Madhya Pradesh by a narrow seven runs in a high-scoring Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day cricket match here today.
Put into bat, the home side, despite losing three quick wickets, amassed 340 for 5, thanks to the efforts of Jackson (111), Jadeja (134) and Chirag Jani (77 not out), who made merry against MP bowlers in the Group D match at SCA Stadium in Khandheri.
Saurashtra then bowled Madhya Pradesh out for 333 in 49.1 overs to notch up an exciting victory.
Avi Barot (3), Cheteshwar Pujara (5) and Jaydev Shah (5) exited early, but Jadeja shared two useful partnerships with Jackson and Jani before getting out on the last ball of the Saurashtra innings.
Jackson and Jadeja added 135 runs for the fourth wicket that helped Saurashtra recover from early damage. The opener made a 108-ball 111, punctuated with 11 fours and four sixes, while the all-rounder notched up 134 in 117 balls with the help of 8 fours and half a dozen hits over the fence.
However, it was Jani who hogged the limelight with an aggressive batting display. He hammered six sixes and three fours in his 43-ball unbeaten 77. Jadeja and Jani also added 152 runs for the fifth wicket.
Madhya Pradesh openers R M Patidar (53) and Jalaj Saxena (133) gave a perfect start to their team's run chase, adding 109 runs for the first wicket. Naman Ojha chipped in with 58, but lower order batsmen failed to keep up the momentum and Madhya Pradesh lost by a small margin.
For Saurashtra, Saurya Sanandiya took three wickets for 59, while Jaydev Unadkat and Jadeja accounted for two scalps each, giving away 84 and 58 runs respectively.
