On Tuesday, 13 January, Punjab beat Madhya Pradesh in the Quarter Final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Punjab who scored 345 for 6 while batting first and that total was at no point challenged by Madhya Pradesh who surrendered meekly. Madhya Pradesh were reduced to 66 for 5 and Rajat Patidar was left with too much to do single handedly. He top scored with 38 but once he was dismissed it opened the floodgates once again and MP were bowled out for 162 in 31.2 overs.
After Punjab were batting first, Prabhsimran and Harnoor Singh added 116 for the first wicket to set a platform. From there on, Anmolpreet rallied on. Skipper Prabhsimran Singh led from the front with a fluent 88 off 86 balls, setting the tone for the innings. He found solid support from Harnoor Singh, who compiled a patient 51 as Anmolpreet Singh then kept the momentum going with a brisk 70 from 62 balls. Nehal Wadhera smashed 56 of just 38 and Ramandeep Singh with 24 of 15 balls gave the finishing touches to help them with a score of 345.
It looked a good score at the halfway stage and Madhya Pradesh would have thought they could make a fist of this game. But the Punjab bowlers were impressive and Gurnoor Brar bowled a special spell. He bowled with more than 140-kph plus most of his first spell. He troubled batters with not just pace but also hard lengths, and was rewarded with two wickets.
No one from Madhya Pradesh could get a start as Sanvir Singh starred with the ball for Punjab, returning figures of 3 for 31 in six overs, while Gurnoor Brar, Krish Bhagat and Ramandeep Singh chipped in with two wickets apiece to ensure the target remained out of reach. Punjab will take on Saurashtra in the semi-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
