Puducherry on top after 8-wkt win over Chandigarh, Assam rout Manipur by 180 runs

Puducherry climbed to the top of the Plate Group table with a clinical eight-wicket win over Chandigarh, while Assam medium pacer Pritam Das claimed a hattrick in their 180-run rout of Manipur in the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Monday. Veteran R Vinay Kumar ripped the Chandigarh top order with his two for 20 to set it up for Puducherry after they elected to field at the Kasiga College Ground.

Left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi (3/29) then ran through the middle-order while the other seamer Sagar Trivedi (2/36) wiped out the tail as Chandigarh were bundled out for 152 in 45.3 overs. In reply, wicket-keeper batsman S Karthik remained unbeaten on a 75-ball 70 to steer Puducherry to a comfortable win in 26 overs.

With four matches left, Puducherry now have 16 points, two points clear of Chandigarh in the Plate Group where the toppers make the last-eight. Hosts Uttarakhand also remained in the hunt for the solitary quarterfinal spot from Plate Group after skipper Unmukt Chand led them to an eight-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh.

Uttarakhand thus grabbed the third spot with 14 points from five matches, behind Chandigarh on net run-rate. Electing to field, Uttarakhand bundled out Arunachal Pradesh for 199 in 48.4 overs with Pradeep Chamoli emerging as the wrecker-in-chief in his four for 31.

In reply, former Delhi captain Unmukt Chand slammed a 57-ball 87 (9x4, 6x6), while the other opener Karanveer Kaushal also made a quickfire 86 (from 46 balls; 12x4, 5x6) to set the tone as the hosts cantered home in just 23.2 overs. Meanwhile, Assam (12 points, five matches) climbed to fourth spot with their massive 180-run win over Manipur with Das claiming a hattrick at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy.

Chasing 256, Manipur could not withstand the fury of Das, who trapped Al Bashid (1) and Karnajit Y (0) lbw in successive balls before cleaning up Langlonyamba M on way to his hattrick in the fourth over. Das returned with figures of 4.4-1-5-5, while Roshan Alam (5/18) also bagged a five-for as Manipur were skittled out for 75 in 24.4 overs.

Put in to bat, Assam were 60/2 in 10.5 overs before Gokul Sharma got into the act with his 88 from 107 balls (9x4), while Riyan Parag slammed a brisk 64-ball 71 with seven fours and two sixes to prop the total to 255/7 in 50 overs. Brief Scores:

At Kasiga College Ground: Chandigarh 152; 45.3 overs (Sagar Udeshi 3/29, Vinay Kumar 2/20, Sagar Trivedi 2/36). Puducherry 155/2; 26 overs (S Karthik 70 not out). Puducherry won by eight wickets. Points: Puducherry: 4, Chandigarh 0. At Abhimanyu Cricket Academy: Assam 255/7; 50 overs (Gokul Sharma 88, Riyan Parag 71; Rex 4/60). Manipur 75; 24.4 overs (Pritam Das 5/5, Roshan Alam 5/18). Assam won by 180 runs. Points: Assam: 4, Manipur: 0.

At Tanush Academy Ground: Arunachal Pradesh 199; 48.4 overs (Rahul Dalal 95; Pradeem Chamoli 4/31, Rahil Shah 2/30, Avneesh Sudha 2/31). Uttarakhand 202/2; 23.2 overs (Unmukt Chand 87, Karanveer Kaushal 86). Uttarakhand won by eight wickets. Points: Uttarakhand: 4, Arunachal Pradesh: 0.

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