Deepak Hooda’s blistering unbeaten 75 powered Rajasthan to a six-wicket win over Jharkhand in their opening Elite C league game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Thursday.
Hooda shifted to Rajasthan this season after a bitter fallout with Baroda.
Opting to field, Rajasthan bowlers dished out a clinical show, and restricted Jharkhand to a modest 146/5 and then Hooda ensured that the chase was walk in the park as they romped home with 15 balls to spare.
Pacers Tanveer Ul Haq (2/18) and Aniket Choudhary (2/41) were up-to the mark as Jharkhand was teetering at 3/33.
But skipper Saurabh Tiwari (43 not out) and middle-order batsman Kumar Deobrat (51) rallied the innings with their 78-run stand. Tiwary and Anukul Roy (16) helped Jharkhand near the 150-run mark.
While chasing, Rajasthan lost their openers early, but it was Hooda, who anchored the chase with his aggressive knock. He took the opposition attack to cleansers, by hammering six fours and five maximums.
After skipper Ashok Menaria and Mahipal Lomror fell cheaply, Hooda found an able ally in Shubham Sharma (33 not out off 18 balls; 4x4; 1x6) and the stitched a match-winning unbroken 64-run stand for the fourth wicket and saw their team garner four points.
Brief Scores: Jharkhand 146/5 (Kumar Deobrat 51, Saurabh Tiwary 43 not out; Tanveer-Ul-Haq 2/18, Aniket Choudhary 2/41) lost to Rajasthan 147/4 (Deepak Hooda 75 not out, Shubham Sharma 33 not out; Monu Kumar 1-21) by six wickets.
Himachal 145/9 (Nikhil Gangta 52; Rishi Dhawan 28; Harshal Patel 3/27, Mohit Sharma 3/28 and Jayant Yadav 2/14) lost to Haryana 149/2 (Himanshu Rana 87 not out, Chaitanya Bishnoi 34; Pankaj Jaswal 1/23) by 8 wickets.
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