The Rajasthan cricket team registered its fourth consecutive victory of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 season with a five-wicket win over Services at the Dr DY Patil University Ground in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
Chasing 233, Rajasthan rode on skipper Mahipal Lomror’s unbeaten 108 off 135 balls and got over the line in 46 overs. Earlier, Services were bowled out for 232 in 47.5 overs.
The win kept Rajasthan's hopes alive for a knockout spot in the tightly contested Group B.
Maharashtra, unbeaten in their five games, lead the standings with 20 points, followed by Andhra, Rajasthan, and Railways, who each have 16 points, with net run-rate separating them. The top two teams from the group will qualify for the knockouts.
Electing to field first, Rajasthan made early inroads as Deepak Chahar dismissed Anshul Gupta and Vineet Dhankhar within the first five overs, reducing Services to 19/2.
Ravi Chauhan (38) and skipper Mohit Ahlawat steadied the ship with a 59-run partnership before Rahul Chahar removed Chauhan in the 17th over.
Ahlawat (78 off 83) and Rajat Paliwal (70 off 73) then threatened to take the game away from Rajasthan with a 77-run stand. However, Kamlesh Nagarkoti broke the back of the Services middle order, dismissing Ahlawat in the 31st over and scalping three more wickets in quick succession.
From a promising 152/3 in 30 overs, the Services cricket team crumbled to 208/8 by the 42nd over. Nagarkoti finished with impressive figures of 4/42 in nine overs, while Rahul Chahar (3/53) and Deepak Chahar (2/49) played key supporting roles.
Rajasthan’s reply started on a shaky note with openers Ram Chouhan and Sumit Godara getting out early.
At 49/3 in the 12th over, the pressure was on captain Lomror and Kartik Sharma. The duo responded with a crucial 106-run partnership that turned the tide.
Kartik’s fluent 53 off 52 balls provided the perfect foil for Lomror’s measured innings. After Kartik fell, Lomror ensured there were minimal hiccups, bringing up a commanding century and guiding Rajasthan home with four overs to spare.
On Friday, Rajasthan will play Railways in their next Group B match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the premier domestic 50-over tournament in India.
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 Services, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, brief scores: SER 232/10 in 47.5 overs (Mohit Ahlawat 78; Kamlesh Nagarkoti 4/42) lost to RAJ 233/5 in 46 overs (Mahipal Lomror 108*; Poonam Poonia 2/34) by five wickets.
