Highlights of the day
Cheteshwar Pujara blasted his highest score in Twenty20 cricket, as Saurashtra thrashed Jammu & Kashmir by 73 runs in Kochi. Pujara slammed five fours and sixes each during a 55-ball 81, and shared a 70-run partnership with Chirag Jani, who stroked 38 off 19 balls. Their efforts lifted Sauarashtra to 157 for 7. J&K failed to string together a single meaningful stand in their chase, and folded for 84 inside 18 overs, with only two batsmen managing double-digit scores. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, ending with figures of 3.1-0-19-3.
Gujarat nearly made a mess of a small chase against Hyderabad in Nagpur, but Parthiv Patel's 70-run blitz ensured the team had enough gas in the tank to register a three-wicket win. Set 132 for victory, Parthiv drilled eight fours and three sixes during a 40-ball 70, and added 99 for the opening wicket with Priyank Kirit Panchal. Parthiv's dismissal in the 12th over triggered a slide, as Gujarat lost seven wickets for just 30 runs, but held on to complete the chase with three balls to spare.
Domestic heavyweights Karnataka suffered their second defeat of the season, going down to Uttar Pradesh by five wickets in Cuttack. Karnataka, opting to bat, compiled a total of 160 for 6, thanks to a 40-ball 45 from Mohammed Talha, and handy lower-order knocks from CM Gautam and Aniruddha Joshi. UP, though, gunned that total down with relative ease, as their top and middle order all got in among the runs. The opener Prashant Gupta top-scored with 48, while Suresh Raina carried forward the momentum by smoking a 15-ball 28 with three sixes.
Biplab Samantray's maiden T20 ton went in vain, as Odisha failed to defend 183 against Maharashtra. Samantray thumped a 59-ball 102, and put up 155 for the third wicket with Govinda Poddar, but important knocks of 44 and 49 from Prayag Bhati and Ankit Bawne respectively helped Maharashtra to a last-ball win.
Other brief scores
Railways 122 for 9 beat Andhra 115 by seven runs
Assam 133 for 6 beat Goa 132 for 7 by four wickets
Vidarbha 140 for 2 beat Haryana 136 for 8 by eight wickets
Mumbai 128 for 2 beat Services 127 for 7 by eight wickets
Jharkhand 121 for 2 beat Rajasthan 120 for 9 by eight wickets
Kerala 113 for 2 beat Tripura 111 by eight wickets
Delhi 160 for 6 beat Madhya Pradesh 156 for 6 by four wickets
Bengal 154 for 6 beat Himachal Pradesh 152 for 3 by two runs