Rajkot: Young wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel underlined his 50-over credentials ahead of the selection of the Indian team for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand next month by smacking a brilliant unbeaten century while big-hitter Rinku Singh gave another commanding performance as Uttar Pradesh secured a facile 54-run win against Baroda in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game to lead Group B, here on Monday.
Jurel struck a blazing 160 not out off 101 deliveries as UP scored a mammoth 369 for 7 and then dismissed the rivals for 315 on the last ball to earn four points and take their tally to 12 after three rounds of the tournament.
Jurel, who came in following the departure of opener and previous game’s centurion Aryan Juyal (26), struck 15 boundaries and eight maximums, shared a 131-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Rinku (63 off 67 balls), who was uncharacteristically slow by his standards.
Jurel then joined forces with late-order batter Prashant Veer (35) to stitch a 122-run stand for the sixth wicket as UP zoomed to a massive total in no time after being reduced to 92 for 3 in the 19th over.
India pacers Mohammed Shami (3/69) and Mukesh Kumar (5/59) bowled beautifully for Bengal but Chandigarh, riding on captain Manan Vohra’s 122, managed 319 in 48.2 overs. In reply, veteran Bengal opener Abishek Porel crafted his own 106 (4 balls) to help his side to a six-wicket win with 14 balls to spare.
In Jaipur Skipper Shardul Thakur ticked all the boxes, right from winning the toss to blowing the Chhattisgarh top order with a match-winning four-wicket burst, as Mumbai cruised to a nine-wicket victory to complete a group stage hat-trick.
Shardul won the toss and used the early morning nip to good effect to reduce Chhattisgarh to 10 for 4 inside the first five overs. Chhattisgarh never recovered from the blow and were skittled out for
142 in 38.1 overs.