Uttar Pradesh beat Vidarbha by 96 runs

Indore: Akshdeep Nath scored a quickfire unbeaten 70 while pacer Imtiaz Ahmed shone with a three-wicket haul as Uttar Pradesh defeated Vidarbha by 96 runs in their Vizay Hazare Trophy (Central Zone) match, here today.

Needing 287 to win, Vidarbha were bundled out for 190 runs in 42 overs, losing the plot in the middle after being comfortably placed at 114 for two. Batting first, Uttar Pradesh rode on Nath`s 47-ball 70, laced with eight fours and two sixes, and half-centuries by openers Prashant Gupta and Tanmay Srivastava to post a challenging 286 for 6. Apart from the trio, skipper Suresh Raina also played his part with the bat, scoring 35 off 47 balls with the help of three sixes. Nath`s blitzkreig was studded with eight fours and two sixes, which helped the visitors score close to 300-run mark. For Vidarbha, Amol Jungade picked up three wickets for 52 runs while Shrikant Wagh, Mangesh Joshi and Akshay Kolhar chipped in with a wicket apiece. For Vidarbha, opener Kolhar played a fine knock of 76 off 97 balls as none other batsmen could hang around for long. Urvesh Patel was the other notable contributor for the hosts with 36. Apart from Imtiaz`s three for 38, Raj Bahadur, Amit Mishra and Ali Murtaza accounted for two wickets each. PTI