Record-breaking Gaikwad guides Maharashtra into semis

Double centurion Ruturaj Gaikwad blazed his way into the record books, smashing seven sixes in a 43-run over as Maharashtra outplayed Uttar Pradesh by 58 runs to storm into the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-finals here on Monday.

Opting to bowl, Uttar Pradesh were in for a shocker as the Maharashtra skipper went hammer and tongs at the Motera B ground during his knock of 220 that came off 159 balls, propelling Maharashtra to 330 for five.

In reply, wicketkeeper-batter Aryan Juyal led UP's charge with a 143-ball 159 but it was not enough as they folded for 272 in 47.4 overs.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar picked up a maiden five-wicket haul (5/53) and was the wrecker-in-chief for Maharashtra.

The penultimate over of Maharashtra's innings was the most eventful one as Gaikwad unleashed his fury against hapless UP left-arm spinner Shiva Singh, smashing him for seven sixes in a row thanks to a no ball while creating a List A record.

He also became the only batter in limited overs cricket to score 43 runs in a single over.

In the last-four clash on Wednesday, Maharashtra will face Assam who eliminated Jammu and Kashmir in another quarterfinal here.

Earlier, Brett Hampton and Joe Carter of Northern Districts jointly hit 43 runs against Willem Ludick in their match against Central Districts in a Ford Trophy game in 2018.

It was a one-man show by the Maharashtra opener as he held their innings together even as wickets kept falling at the other end.

The first ball of the 49th over was a low full-toss and Gaikwad smoked it over deep midwicket for the first six. The second one was hit straight down the ground, while he cleared deep square leg for his third maximum. The fourth delivery was tonked over long-off, the fifth, a no ball, was played almost in the same direction, and the batter took full advantage of the free hit by hammering it over long-on and reach his double century.

The seventh and final ball was smashed over deep midwicket, as the UP spinner returned with expensive figures of 0/88 from nine overs.

Overall, Gaikwad hit 16 sixes and 10 fours and did the bulk of the scoring as the rest of his teammates managed only 96 runs from 142 deliveries.

In reply, wicketkeeper-batter Aryan Juyal led UP's charge with a 143-ball 159 but it was not enough as they folded for 272 in 47.4 overs.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar picked up a maiden five-wicket haul (5/53) and was the wrecker-in-chief for Maharashtra.

Brief Scores: Maharashtra 330/5; 50 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 220, Ankit Bawne 37, Azim Kazi 37; Kartik Tyagi 3/66) b Uttar Pradesh 272; 47.4 overs (Aryan Juyal 159, Shivam Sharma 33; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 5/53, Satyajeet Bachhav 2/52) by 58 runs.

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