Delhi beat J&K by 6 wkts to register second win

Chandigarh: Delhi produced a clinical performance to comfortably beat Jammu and Kashmir by six wickets and register their second consecutive win in a North Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match, on Wednesday.

Left-arm spinner Varun Sood (3/14) and seasoned Rajat Bhatia (2/26) shared five wickets between them as Delhi restricted the rivals to a modest 119 for eight after electing to bowl at Sector 16 stadium. J&K skipper Perveez Rasool resisted the Delhi attack with aplomb, scoring 44 off 38 balls under pressure, to give his bowlers something to fight for. Chasing the modest score, experienced openers Virender Sehwag (22) and Gautam Gambhir (6) could not score big, becoming early victims of Abid Nabi, but Delhi overhauled the target with one over to spare. Young Unmukt Chand guided the chase with a responsible 39-run knock and Bhatia provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 28 off 16 balls. Meanwhile, in a match at PCA stadium in Mohali, Haryana edged out Services by eight runs. It was paceman Ashish Hooda who turned the tide in Haryana`s favour with his five-wicket haul. Haryana put up a competitive 144 for seven after being asked to bat as opener Avi Barot played a superb knock of 78 from 58 balls. Services had a good start as openers Yashpal Singh (18) and Nakul Verma (46) added 60 runs for a strong foundation but they could mange 136 for seven in the end. Hooda removed both the openers and also scalped Anshul Gupta (6) while Jayant Yadav dismissed Rajat Paliwal (4) to reduce Services to 75 for 4. Soumya Swain waged a grim battle with an unbeaten 32 from one end but ran short of partners as Hooda got rid of two more batsman to script Haryana`s second win in a row.