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Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Nayar sizzles, Mumbai and Bengal in final

Mumbai are in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, after they decimated Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The semi-final was a one-sided affair, with Mumbai's batting stars firing to take their team to 295 for 5 before Delhi collapsed for 155 in 45 overs. All of Mumbai's big-name batsmen contributed with the bat: Ajinkya Rahane scored 42 at the top of the order to give the team a steady start, Wasim Jaffer anchored the innings with his 92 off 110, and Abhishek Nayar's explosive 72, which came off just 41 balls and included eight fours and two sixes, took the total from a competitive one to an imposing one.

Delhi were hurt early by medium-pacer Kshemal Waingankar, who finished with remarkable figures of 8-3-15-2. They slipped to 57 for 5 and never recovered. Anup Revandkar took three wickets, and the spinners finished the job, to make it a 140-run trouncing.

An unbeaten 53 from Wriddhiman Saha helped Bengal beat Punjab by three wickets in a low-scoring match at the Model Sports Complex in Delhi, and join Mumbai in the final. Saha's innings was the key one in a tense, seesawing chase of 206. Bengal looked solid at 86 for 2 but two Rajwinder Singh strikes later they were 98 for 4, which became 111 for 5 when Bipul Sharma dismissed Laxmi Ratan Shukla. Saha forged a 41-run stand with Debabrata Das to swing it back Bengal's way but Punjab kept fighting and took two more wickets before Saha was joined by Shami Ahmed, who smashed 22 off seven balls to bring the match to a quick end.

Punjab had been in big trouble early in their innings when Bengal's medium-pacers reduced them to 34 for 5. Mandeep Singh and Bipul Sharma scored half-centuries, and shared a 104-run stand, to start the recovery. Harbhajan Singh chipped in with 39 to help take the score past 200, but it was not enough.

The final will be played on March 12, at the Kotla.

Bengal 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st19SP GoswamiJJ Basu
2nd37SC GangulySP Goswami
3rd30AP MajumdarSP Goswami
4th12WP SahaSP Goswami
5th13LR ShuklaWP Saha
6th51WP SahaDB Das
7th19WP SahaAA Nandi
8th27WP SahaMohammed Shami

Vijay Hazare Trophy

Central Zone
TeamMWLPTNRR
RLYS431130.895
MP4228-0.163
UP4228-0.633
VIDAR42280.229
RAJ4133-0.419
East Zone
TeamMWLPTNRR
BENG440191.25
ASSAM431120.313
ODSA42280.14
JHK4133-0.792
TPURA404-2-0.947
North Zone
TeamMWLPTNRR
DELHI550241.822
PNJB541170.472
HRYNA532140.508
HP5235-1.049
SVCS5141-0.996
J + K505-1-0.747
South Zone
TeamMWLPTNRR
KNTKA541181.388
HYD541160.546
TN532140.315
GOA5239-0.295
KER5142-0.803
AP5141-1.166
West Zone
TeamMWLPTNRR
MUM431120.086
MAHA43111-0.518
BRODA42290.854
GUJ42290.01
SAU404-1-0.586