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Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Arshin Kulkarni and Mukesh Choudhary lead Maharashtra into semis

Arshin Kulkarni struck a crisp boundary but fell soon after ICC/Getty Images

Maharashtra 275 for 6 (Kulkarni 107, Bawne 60, Arshdeep 3-56) beat Punjab 205 (Arshdeep 49, Mukesh 3-44) by 70 runs

Arshin Kulkarni, Maharashtra's 19-year-old allrounder, scored a century on List A debut to lead his side to victory against Punjab and into the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Kulkarni top-scored with 107 off 137 balls as Maharashtra overcame a top-order wobble to post 275 for 6, which was 70 too many for Punjab.

Maharashtra were reduced to 8 for 2 in the third over with Arshdeep Singh, who finished with a three-wicket haul that took him to the top of the wicket charts, accounting for the openers. Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was bowled by an away-swinger that pitched on leg stump and beat his outside edge to hit the top of off in the first over of the match. In the third, Arshdeep had left-hand batter Siddesh Veer nicking behind.

Kulkarni and Ankit Bawne, the veteran batter, put on 145 for the third wicket. Bawne scored 60 before he fell to spin-bowling allrounder Naman Dhir. Rahul Tripathi then fell for 15 as Maharashtra stumbled.

It wasn't until the last five overs that they regained some momentum, with wicketkeeper batter Nikhil Naik hitting an unbeaten 29-ball 52. Maharashtra scored 63 off the last six overs to finish on 275.

Left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary began Maharashtra's defence with superb swing bowling to dismiss Prabhsimran Singh and Abhishek Sharma as Punjab tried to speed away. He had a third wicket in the 10th over - his fifth in a row - when he dismissed Nehal Wadhera and left Punjab 50 for 3.

When Punjab's middle order, comprising the dangerous Ramandeep Singh and Naman Dhir, failed to fire, Maharashtra were runaway winners. From 123 for 7, Arshdeep muscled a few big blows to reduce Punjab's margin of defeat. He made his highest List A score of 49 before being the last batter dismissed as they were all out for 205.

Punjab 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st25Abhishek SharmaPrabhsimran Singh
2nd17Anmolpreet SinghAbhishek Sharma
3rd8Anmolpreet SinghN Wadhera
4th2Anmolpreet SinghRamandeep Singh
5th27A MalhotraAnmolpreet Singh
6th40Anmolpreet SinghNaman Dhir
7th4Anmolpreet SinghSanvir Singh
8th51Arshdeep SinghSanvir Singh
9th19RS SharmaArshdeep Singh
10th12Baltej SinghArshdeep Singh

Vijay Hazare Trophy

Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
GUJ770282.582
HRYNA761240.728
JHK743160.423
UKHND734120.846
GOA73412-0.676
ASSAM73412-0.816
ODSA72580.17
MNPR7070-2.952
Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
MAHA761241.736
RLYS752200.856
RAJ752200.349
AP743161.115
HP743160.649
SVCS7258-0.51
SIKM7258-1.395
MEGHA7070-2.474
Group C
TeamMWLPTNRR
PNJB761242.401
KNTKA761241.393
MUM752202.114
HYD743160.516
SAU734120.57
PONDI73412-0.88
NAGA7164-0.69
ARP7070-6.246
Group D
TeamMWLPTNRR
VIDAR660241.996
TN641182.443
UP632140.338
CHD623100.415
CGR62310-1.122
J + K6146-0.56
MIZO6052-4.298
Group E
TeamMWLPTNRR
BRODA651200.851
BENG641180.539
MP632140.583
DELHI633120.371
KER623100.652
TPURA6146-1.894
BIHAR6154-1.261