Dhruv Jurel’s 160 powers UP past Baroda in Vijay Hazare Trophy

Dhruv Jurel’s unbeaten 160 and Rinku Singh’s 63 powered Uttar Pradesh to a 54-run win over Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. With their third successive victory, UP lead Group B with 12 points after three rounds

Rajkot: Young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel underlined his 50-over credentials ahead of the Indian team’s ODI series against New Zealand next month by smacking a brilliant unbeaten century, while big-hitter Rinku Singh gave another commanding performance as Uttar Pradesh secured a 54-run win against Baroda in a Vijay Hazare Trophy Group B game here on Monday.

Jurel struck a blazing 160 not out off 101 deliveries as UP piled up 369 for seven and then dismissed Baroda for 315 on the last ball to earn four points and take their tally to 12 after three rounds of the tournament.

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Coming in after opener Aryan Juyal (26) departed, Jurel struck 15 boundaries and eight sixes. He shared a 131-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Rinku (63 off 67 balls), who played a steady hand. Jurel later added 122 runs for the sixth wicket with Prashant Veer (35) as UP recovered from 92 for three in the 19th over.

Baroda pacer Raj Limbani (4/74) was the lone bright spot, while Rasikh Dar conceded 102 runs in his 10 overs.

Baroda’s chase began well with Shashwat Rawat (60) and Shivalik Sharma (30), but wickets of Jitesh Sharma and Priyanshu Moliya halted momentum. Skipper Krunal Pandya (82 off 77 balls) fought hard, but his dismissal in the 43rd over ended hopes. Zeeshan Ansari (3/53) and Sameer Rizvi (2/43) ensured UP’s win.

With their third successive win, UP lead Group B with 12 points. J&K, Vidarbha, Baroda and Bengal trail on eight points each.

Elsewhere, Bengal defeated Chandigarh by six wickets, Vidarbha chased down J&K’s 311 with five wickets to spare, and Assam edged Hyderabad by four wickets.

Brief Scores:
Uttar Pradesh 369/7 in 50 overs (Abhishek Goswami 51, Dhruv Jurel 160 n.o., Rinku Singh 63; Raj Limbani 4/74) bt Baroda 315 all out in 50 overs (Shashwat Rawat 60, Krunal Pandya 82; Zeeshan Ansari 3/53, Sameer Rizvi 2/43) by 54 runs.

Hyderabad 310/8 in 50 overs (Rahul Singh 79, Abhirath Reddy 54, Nitesh Reddy 53; Abdul Ajij Kuraishi 3/71) lost to Assam 314/6 in 49.3 overs (Saurav Dihingia 91, Sibsankar Roy 112, Denish Das 54; Chama Milind 3/68) by four wickets.

Jammu & Kashmir 311/9 in 50 overs (Qamran Iqbal 54, Yawer Hassan 79; Yash Thakur 3/73, Yash Kadam 2/10) lost to Vidarbha 315/5 in 48.3 overs (Aman Mokhade 139, Ravikumar Samarth 114; Yudhvir Singh 3/69) by five wickets.

Chandigarh 319 in 48.2 overs (Manan Vohra 112, Sanyam Saini 67; Mohammed Shami 3/69, Mukesh Kumar 5/59, Shahbaz Ahmed 2/51) lost to Bengal 320/4 in 47.4 overs (Abishek Porel 106, Anustup Majumdar 63, Shahbaz Ahmed 76 n.o.) by six wickets.