Dhruv Jurel stole the spotlight with a breathtaking unbeaten 160 off 101 balls as Uttar Pradesh extended their perfect start with a 54-run win over Baroda. Jurel hammered 15 fours and eight sixes, while Rinku Singh added 63 to lift UP to 369/7. Baroda’s chase never fully caught fire despite Krunal Pandya’s brisk 82, Shashwat Rawat’s fifty and quick cameos from Atit Sheth and Vishnu Solanki, as they finished on 315.
Vidarbha pulled off a comfortable chase against Jammu & Kashmir, riding on centuries from Aman Mokhade and R Samarth. J&K posted a competitive 311 on the back of Yawer Hassan’s 79, Qamran Iqbal’s 54 and late blows from Auqib Nabi (40 off 26) and Yudhvir Singh (42* off 24). But Mokhade’s 139 off 125 and Samarth’s 114 off 108 forged a decisive 218-run third-wicket stand as Vidarbha sealed the chase with nine balls remaining.
Delhi edged out Saurashtra in a thrilling three-wicket win in Alur. Vishvaraj Jadeja (115 off 104) and Ruchit Ahir (95* off 65) powered Saurashtra to 320-plus, but Delhi’s chase was set up by Priyansh Arya’s explosive 78 off 45. After Rishabh Pant and Nitish Rana fell, the lower order held their nerve, with Tejasvi Dahiya (53), Harsh Tyagi (49) and Navdeep Saini (34*) steering Delhi home with seven deliveries to spare.
Assam held their composure in a tense chase as Sibsankar Roy struck a measured 112 off 109 to guide his side to a four-wicket win over Hyderabad. Roy found solid support from Saurav Dihingia (91) and Denish Das (54) as Assam overhauled the 311-run target with three balls remaining.
Uttarakhand scripted a memorable victory over Punjab, led by Kunal Chandela’s resolute 118 off 114 balls. Punjab managed 269/8 despite half-centuries from Salil Arora and Krish Bhagat, but Chandela, along with Shashwat Dangwal’s unbeaten 51 off 38, saw Uttarakhand home in 47.4 overs.
Abishek Porel starred in Bengal’s six-wicket win over Chandigarh, scoring a fluent 106 off 84 balls to outshine Manan Vohra’s 122. Shahbaz Ahmed (76* off 61) and Anustup Majumdar (63) ensured Bengal chased down 320 with ease.
Jharkhand registered a dominant 133-run win over Puducherry after piling on 368/7. Kumar Kushagra (105), Utkarsh Singh (74) and a blazing 98 off 53 balls from Ankul Roy powered the total before the bowlers dismissed Puducherry for 235.
Lalit Yadav’s unbeaten 131 off 111 anchored Goa’s 62-run win over Sikkim, their third victory on the trot. After posting 309/8, Goa restricted Sikkim to 247/7.
Karnataka continued their winning run as KL Shrijith (77), Mayank Agarwal (58) and Shreyas Gopal (55) guided them to a four-wicket win over Tamil Nadu in a successful chase of 289.
Railways posted a massive 365/7 against Services, thanks to half-centuries from Pratham Singh, Ravi Singh and a blistering 23-ball fifty from Ashutosh Sharma. Services began strongly through Sagar Dahiya (95) and Ravi Chauhan (73) but collapsed to be bowled out for 281.
Bowlers make their mark
Despite Ramakrishna Ghosh’s sensational 7 for 42—only the 12th instance of a seven-wicket haul in Vijay Hazare Trophy history—Himachal Pradesh edged Maharashtra by seven runs. Pukhraj Mann’s 110 proved crucial as HP defended 271.
Mumbai registered a dominant nine-wicket win over Chhattisgarh as Shardul Thakur and Shams Mulani shared nine wickets. Thakur’s early burst left Chhattisgarh reeling at 10/4 before Mulani’s 5 for 31 wrapped up the innings for 142.
Tripura defeated Rajasthan by 66 runs after Vijay Shankar claimed four wickets and Manisankar Murasingh three. Half-centuries from Tejasvi Jaiswal and Sridam Paul had earlier lifted Tripura to 286.
Biplab Samantray and Govinda Poddar picked up three wickets apiece as Andhra were bowled out for 221, a total Odisha chased comfortably on the back of a strong partnership between Om Munde (91) and Poddar (89).
Ankit Sharma (four wickets) and Baba Aparajith (three) restricted Madhya Pradesh to 214, which proved enough as MP bowled Kerala out for 167 to claim their third successive win.
Haryana successfully defended 299 against Gujarat, led by Anshul Kamboj’s disciplined 3 for 49. Early breakthroughs, including the wicket of half-centurion Vishal Jayswal, ensured Gujarat fell short despite a late cameo from Ravi Bishnoi.
