Patel helps Gujarat sneak into Vijay Hazare semis

Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel struck an fine fifty, while Axar Patel chipped in with an unbeaten 36 after picking up two crucial scalps to edge out Vidarbha by two wickets and advance to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare cricket tournament here today. Chasing 196 for a win at the KSCA Cricket (3) Ground, Gujarat rode on opener Parthiv’s strokeful 57 to achieve the target in 48.1 overs.

Gujarat though did see wickets tumble as left-arm medium Ravikumar Thakur and off-spinner Akshay Wakhare bagged three wickets each, but Axar made sure that he stays firm with Harshal Patel (15 not out) to ensure victory. 

Earlier electing to bat, Vidarbha started off well with fifties from opener Faiz Fazal (52) and Jitesh Sharma (51), but soon their innings ran into rough weather. 

After the 96-run openig stand, one-down Ganesh Satish also contributed with a useful 47 but the rest of the batting folded like a pack of cards.