The Rajasthan cricket team pulled off a stunning one-wicket victory over Railways in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 Group B match at the Dr DY Patil University Ground in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
The Railways cricket team posted a challenging total of 345/9 batting first. In reply, Rajasthan chased down the target in 49.5 overs with a wicket to spare. Samarpit Joshi (116* off 104) and Kartik Sharma (100 off 69) scored a century each.
This was Rajasthan's fifth straight win in Group B of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the premier domestic 50-over tournament in India. The team had lost the opener to Maharashtra.
Rajasthan are currently second in the Vijay Hazare Trophy standings with 20 points. Maharashtra, unbeaten in their six games, lead the standings with 24 points. The top two teams from the eight-team group will qualify for the knockouts.
Electing to field first, Rajasthan struck early as Khaleel Ahmed rattled Ashutosh Sharma’s stumps in the second over.
The Railways countered with a steady partnership between Suraj Ahuja and Sahab Yuvraj Singh. The duo, batting cautiously until the 12th over, shifted gears thereafter, piling on a mammoth 175-run stand.
Khaleel returned to break the partnership in the 33rd over, dismissing Yuvraj Singh with the score at 188. Ahuja, meanwhile, brought up a century before falling to Deepak Chahar in the 41st over.
At 259/4, Railways were set for a grand finish and skipper Upendra Yadav delivered, smashing a 31-ball 55 to propel the team to a formidable total. Khaleel Ahmed was the standout bowler for Rajasthan, claiming 4/65 in 10 overs.
Rajasthan were rocked early in their chase with Ram Chouhan getting out without disturbing the scores. Though Shubham Garhwal (31), Mahipal Lomror (25), and Deepak Hooda (30) made starts, the team was reeling at 103/4 in the 18th over.
Kartik Sharma and Samarpit Joshi then put on a 147-run stand in 122 balls to keep the run chase on track.
Kartik was dismissed after a 69-ball century in the 38th over with Rajasthan’s score at 250. Kartik’s century came off just 69 balls and was laced with 10 fours and four sixes.
Rajasthan still needed 95 runs in the final 12 overs to get over the line. Samarpit, despite running out of partners, timed the chase perfectly to bring the required rate down to eight in the final five overs.
With 19 runs needed off the final two overs, Samarpit decided to keep most of the strike. He brought up his century with a boundary off the first ball of the penultimate over and struck a maximum and a four to leave only five to get from the final over.
However, Aniket Choudhary, who was on strike, lost his wicket on the second ball. Khaleel Ahmed also started with a dot ball and ran for a bye on the next delivery. Samarpit Joshi then scored a maximum on the penultimate ball to secure crucial four points for his team.
On Sunday, Rajasthan will play Sikkim in their final Group B match.
The top-ranked team from each of the five groups along with the best second-placed team will directly qualify for the quarter-finals. The other four second-placed teams meet in the preliminary quarter-finals with the winners filling the last two spots in the quarters.
Rajasthan vs Railways, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, brief scores: RLYS 345/9 in 50 overs (Suraj Ahuja 115; Khaleel Ahmed 4/65) lost to RAJ 348/9 in 49.5 overs (Samarpit Joshi 116*, Kartik Sharma 100; Rahul Sharma 3/63 ) by one wicket.
