Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh and Sanvir Singh proved to be Punjab's top performers as they defeated Madhya Pradesh comprehensively by 183 runs in the quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The result saw Venkatesh Iyer & Co's run in the tournament come to an end while Punjab moved into the semis.
After being invited to bat first at BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, Punjab made a strong start thanks to the opening duo of Prabhsimran and Harnoor Singh. The two batted brilliantly and helped the team cross the 100-run mark without losing any wickets. Both of them brought up their fifties, but Harnoor couldn't continue for long and got dismissed for 51 runs in the 22nd over as the 116-run partnership came to an end.
Prabhsimran's superb knock
Next batter, Anmolpreet played the supporting role as Prabhsimran picked up the pace and started scoring runs rapidly. The latter looked set to bring up his hundred, but was dismissed by Kuldeep Sen for 88. Naman Dhir failed to score big and was sent back to the pavilion for 23 runs, but it was the partnership between Anmolpreet and Nehal Wadhera that got Punjab into a commanding position.
The two played many splendid shots and increased the side's run-rate. Wadhera proved to be the aggressor among the two and brought up his half-century in no time before Anmolpreet also crossed the 50-run mark. Wadhera eventually lost his wicket for 56 runs to Tripuresh Singh. Anmolpreet would also be sent back to the dugout for 70 runs four overs later, but the team had already posted 311 runs on the board by then. Cameos of 24 and 13 from Ramandeep Singh and Sanvir respectively got Punjab to a formidable total of 345/6 in 50 overs.
Madhya Pradesh's dismal batting display
In reply, Madhya Pradesh had a poor start as pacer Gurnoor Brar bowled a fiery opening spell. He dismissed the opening duo of Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri within the first nine overs. Sanvir joined in soon after and got rid of Shubham Sharma for 24 runs before dismissing Venkatesh just two deliveries later for a duck. Akshat Raghuvanshi also lost his wicket cheaply for four runs as Madhya Pradesh went down to 66/5 at one stage.
Saransh Jain was the next batter to fall for just five before the duo of Rajat Patidar and Tripuresh formed a much-needed partnership. They took the side's total over the 100-run mark, but Krish Bhagat soon dismissed Patidar for 38 runs. Ramandeep joined the party soon after and got the wicket of Aryan Pandey for 13 as Madhya Pradesh went down to 151/8 in the 30th over. They would lose their remaining two scalps in the next two overs and get bundled out for just 162 runs.
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Punjab won the match comprehensively with Sanvir proving to be the star performer with the ball and recording figures of 3/31 in six overs. The likes of Gurnoor, Krish and Ramandeep chipped in with two wickets each as the side booked a place in the semis and will now be facing Saurashtra on January 16.