Karnataka to face Mumbai in quarters

Veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer played a perfect innings in a modest chase as Mumbai outclassed Delhi by six wickets to enter quarterfinal of the all-India one-day championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, here on Wednesday.

Mumbai will meet defending champions Karnataka in the quarterfinals.

Mumbai captain Suryakumar Yadav won a good toss and his bowlers responded brilliantly, bowling out Delhi for 157 in 42.3 overs. Virender Sehwag (9) and Gautam Gambhir (22) continued to fail as Delhi never looked like being in the match.

In reply, Mumbai maintained a steady tempo without taking undue risks, courtesy Jaffer as he struck an unbeaten 83 off 87 balls to take his team to victory in 30.3 overs. His customary on-drives were a treat to watch as all the bowlers including the seasoned Ashish Nehra were guilty of bowling on his pads.

Jaffer’s innings had 11 boundaries and a six and his sequence of scores in the tournament now read: 83, 37, 84, 60 and 83 n.o.

Punjab in quarters

Captain Harbhajan Singh led from the front with an all-round effort as Punjab coasted to a comfortable 29-run win against Gujarat and set up Railways clash in the quarterfinals.

Put into bat at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Punjab rode fine fifties from Amitoze Singh (75), Gurkeerat Singh Mann (72) and Harbhajan (51 off 25 balls) to post a respectable 255 for eight in 50 overs.

In reply, Gujarat batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts as Punjab pace spearhead Sandeep Sharma, who bagged 3 wickets, helped bundle out the Parthiv Patel-led side for 226 in 47.3 overs. The senior off-spinner also performed admirably with the ball taking two for 51 in his quota of 10 overs.

Brief scores (pre-quarterfinals): Delhi: 157 in 42.3 overs (Milind Kumar 64; Shardul Tahkur 3-25) lt to Mumbai: 158/4 (Wasim Jaffer 83 n.o., Akhil Herwadkar 30).

Punjab: 255/8 in 50 overs (Amitoze Singh 75, Gurkeerat Singh Mann 72, Harbhajan Singh 51; Rush Kalaria 3-55, Rohit Dahiya 2-46) bt Gujarat: 226 all out in 4.3 overs (Rohit Dahiya 53, Priyank Panchal 38, Rujul Bhatt 31; Sandeep Sharma 3-39, Siddharth Kaul 2-43, Harbhajan Singh 2-51, Yuvraj Singh 2-21).