Faiz Fazal returned to form with a stellar century as Ranji champions Vidarbha routed Hyderabad by 237 runs for a hat-trick of wins in the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-day cricket competition. The left-handed opener overcame a string of poor scores with a 97-ball 103 (9x4, 3x6) before the duo of Ravi Jangid (81 from 62 balls; 6x4, 3x6) and Apoorv Wankhade (66 from 43 balls; 3x4, 5x6) took charge of the proceedings to propel Vidarbha to a huge 350/6 after they opted to bat. In reply, Hyderabad folded for 113 in 34.2 overs with Karn Sharma returning figures of 3/38 while Shrikant Wagh claimed 2/20, as the home side suffered its first defeat from three matches. With three wins in a row, Vidarbha led Group D table with 12 points, while the home side remained second with eight points. In other matches, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir secured their first wins respectively, to remain in contention. Parvez Rasool led from the front with an unbeaten 67 (80 balls; 3x4, 2x6) and he along with Shubham Pundir (55 from 47 balls; 7x4) steered them to a stunning six-wicket win over a star-studded Saurashtra with an over to spare at the Gymkhana Ground in Secunderabad. Chasing 268, opener Ahmed Bandy gave Jammu & Kashmir a fine start with a 66-ball 65 (11x4, 1x6) before Rasool and Pundir combined together for a matchwinning 98-run fourth-wicket stand. Ravindra Jadeja returned wicketless with 59 from his full quota, while IPL's costliest Indian buy, Jaydev Unadkat, also finished without a wicket conceding 57 from his nine overs. Earlier, Saurashtra were struggling at 131/5 after their star players Robin Uthappa (20 from 29 balls; 2x4), Cheteshwar Pujara (27 from 64 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (13 from 30b; 1x4) were dismissed cheaply. Arpit Vasavada revived their innings with an 85 not out from 73 balls (1x4, 6x6). He along with Prerak Mankad (67 from 48 balls; 5x4, 2x6) took them to a challenging 267 At the AOC Centre Thapar Stadium in Secunderabad, Ishan Kishan came up with a captain's knock of 106 from 75 balls (13x4, 4x6) to power Jharkhand to a five-wicket win over Services with 115 balls to spare. Brief Scores: Vidarbha 350/6; 50 overs (Faiz Fazal 103, Ravi Jangid 81, Apoorv Wankhade 66; Ravi Teja 2/53) beat Hyderabad 113; 34.2 overs (Karn Sharma 3/38, Shrikant Wagh 2/20) by 237 runs. Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad: Saurashtra 267/6; 50 overs (Arpit Vasavada 85 not out, Prerak Mankad 67; Waseem Raza 2/45) lost to Jammu & Kashmir 269/4; 49 overs (Parvez Rasool 67 not out, Ahmed Bandy 65, Shubham Pundir 55; Kamlesh Makvana 3/36) by six wickets. AOC Centre Thapar Stadium, Secunderabad: Services 202/9; 50 overs (Hardik Sethi 66; Varun Aaron 3/20, Anukul Roy 2/26) lost to Jharkhand 203/5; 30.5 overs (Ishan Kishan 106, Saurabh Tiwary 56; Vikas Yadav 2/23) by five wickets. PTI TAP AH
