Dhoni top-scores, but Jharkhand lose to Gujarat

Mahendra Singh Dhoni top-scored with a defiant 44 but his innings went in vain as Jharkhand lost to Gujarat by six wickets in the Group B League match of Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Friday.

Electing to bat at the KSCA Cricket (3) Ground, Jharkhand scored 177 for four in 47 overs but could not stop Gujarat from running away with an easy win.

Gujarat rode on opener Priyank Kirit Panchal’s 62 to achieve their target in 40.5 overs. If the second-wicket 111-run partnership between Panchal and skipper Parthiv Patel (44) laid the base for their comfortable win then Rujul Bhatt (24 not out and Axar Patel made sure (32 not out) that they only lose four wickets in the process.

Dhoni, who failed to impress in the first domestic match for his state - managed just 9 runs - after a gap of eight years, scored 44 runs off 64 balls, which was studded with four boundaries.

The Indian limited-overs’ captain was cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed two crucial wickets - he also got opener Ishank Jaggi for 34.

Jharkhand had registered a win against Jammu and Kashmir in their opening game.

Brief Scores: Jharkhand 177/7 in 44 overs (Mahendra Singh Dhoni 44 not out, Ishank Jaggi 34; Jasprit Bumrah 2-30, Axar Patel 2-30)

Gujarat 179/4 in 40.5 overs (Parthiv Patel 44, Axar Patel 32 not out; Shahbaz Nadeem 2-36) Points: Gujarat 4, Jharkhand 0.