Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20, Plate Group: Clinical Puducherry moves to top spot after eight-wicket win over Chandigarh

Assam, meanwhile, defeated Manipur by 180 runs on the back of medium pacer Pritam Das' hattrick.

Puducherry climbed to the top of the Plate Group table with a clinical eight-wicket win over Chandigarh, while Assam medium pacer Pritam Das claimed a hattrick in their 180-run rout of Manipur in the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Monday.

Veteran R Vinay Kumar ripped the Chandigarh top order with his two for 20 to set it up for Puducherry after they elected to field at the Kasiga College Ground.

Left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi (3/29) then ran through the middle-order while the other seamer Sagar Trivedi (2/36) wiped out the tail as Chandigarh were bundled out for 152 in 45.3 overs.

In reply, wicket-keeper batsman S Karthik remained unbeaten on a 75-ball 70 to steer Puducherry to a comfortable win in 26 overs.

With four matches left, Puducherry now have 16 points, two points clear of Chandigarh in the Plate Group where the toppers make the last-eight.

Hosts Uttarakhand also remained in the hunt for the solitary quarterfinal spot from Plate Group after skipper Unmukt Chand led them to an eight-wicket win over Arunachal Pradesh.

Uttarakhand thus grabbed the third spot with 14 points from five matches, behind Chandigarh on net run-rate.

Electing to field, Uttarakhand bundled out Arunachal Pradesh for 199 in 48.4 overs with Pradeep Chamoli emerging as the wrecker-in-chief in his four for 31.

In reply, former Delhi captain Unmukt Chand slammed a 57-ball 87 (9×4, 6×6), while the other opener Karanveer Kaushal also made a quickfire 86 (from 46 balls; 12×4, 5×6) to set the tone as the hosts cantered home in just 23.2 overs.

Meanwhile, Assam (12 points, five matches) climbed to fourth spot with their massive 180-run win over Manipur with Das claiming a hattrick at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy.

Chasing 256, Manipur could not withstand the fury of Das, who trapped Al Bashid (1) and Karnajit Y (0) lbw in successive balls before cleaning up Langlonyamba M on way to his hattrick in the fourth over.

Das returned with figures of 4.4-1-5-5, while Roshan Alam (5/18) also bagged a five-for as Manipur were skittled out for 75 in 24.4 overs.

Put in to bat, Assam were 60/2 in 10.5 overs before Gokul Sharma got into the act with his 88 from 107 balls (9×4), while Riyan Parag slammed a brisk 64-ball 71 with seven fours and two sixes to prop the total to 255/7 in 50 overs.

Brief Scores:

At Kasiga College Ground: Chandigarh 152; 45.3 overs (Sagar Udeshi 3/29, Vinay Kumar 2/20, Sagar Trivedi 2/36). Puducherry 155/2; 26 overs (S Karthik 70 not out). Puducherry won by eight wickets. Points: Puducherry: 4, Chandigarh 0.

At Abhimanyu Cricket Academy: Assam 255/7; 50 overs (Gokul Sharma 88, Riyan Parag 71; Rex 4/60). Manipur 75; 24.4 overs (Pritam Das 5/5, Roshan Alam 5/18). Assam won by 180 runs. Points: Assam: 4, Manipur: 0.

At Tanush Academy Ground: Arunachal Pradesh 199; 48.4 overs (Rahul Dalal 95; Pradeem Chamoli 4/31, Rahil Shah 2/30, Avneesh Sudha 2/31). Uttarakhand 202/2; 23.2 overs (Unmukt Chand 87, Karanveer Kaushal 86). Uttarakhand won by eight wickets. Points: Uttarakhand: 4, Arunachal Pradesh: 0.