Saurashtra Advances to Vijay Hazare Trophy Semi-Finals with Rain-Affected Victory

In a gripping quarter-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Saurashtra edged past Uttar Pradesh by 17 runs, thanks to a stellar performance from Harvik Desai and the VJD Method. The match, affected by rain, saw Saurashtra chase down a challenging target before the weather intervened. With key contributions from Desai, Mankad, and Jani, Saurashtra's victory secured their place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh's Rizvi and Goswami fought valiantly to set a competitive total. Read on for a detailed breakdown of this thrilling encounter.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jan 13, 2026, 01:59 IST

Saurashtra Secures Semi-Final Spot

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 12: Saurashtra clinched a place in the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025/26 by defeating Uttar Pradesh by 17 runs, utilizing the VJD Method during a rain-affected quarter-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh set a challenging target of 310 runs for 8 in their 50 overs, thanks to a robust performance from their middle order. In response, Saurashtra's innings was solidly anchored by opener Harvik Desai, who scored a remarkable century.

Desai led the team to a score of 238 for 3 in just 40.1 overs before rain interrupted play. With the weather worsening, the umpires halted the match, and the VJD calculation awarded Saurashtra a 17-run victory, ensuring their progression to the semi-finals.

In addition to Desai's century, Prerak Mankad contributed significantly with a well-played 67 off 66 balls before being dismissed by Prashant Veer.

Chirag Jani also made a crucial contribution with a quick 40 runs off 31 balls, which was instrumental in keeping Saurashtra ahead according to the VJD method.

Earlier, Sameer Rizvi and Abhishek Goswami played pivotal roles in helping Uttar Pradesh reach a competitive total of 310/8 in their allotted overs.

Left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya made an early impact by dismissing opener Aryan Juyal for a duck and quickly followed up by taking out Rituraj Sharma for just 12 runs, putting Uttar Pradesh under early pressure.

After these early wickets, Abhishek Goswami steadied the innings alongside Priyam Garg, with the duo adding 57 runs. Garg scored a brisk 35 off 39 balls before being dismissed, bringing captain Rinku Singh to the crease. Unfortunately, Rinku had a rare off day and was out for just 13 runs, bowled by Prerak Mankad.

Goswami continued to anchor the innings and was on track for a century but fell short, scoring 88 runs off 82 balls with 12 boundaries before being dismissed by Parswaraj Rana. At that point, Uttar Pradesh was at 179/5 in 33.2 overs.

Sameer Rizvi then took charge, forming a crucial 50-run partnership with Prashant Veer. Veer added 30 runs off 31 balls before becoming Sakariya's third wicket. Vipraj Nigam joined Rizvi but managed only 13 runs before being bowled by Ankur Panwar.

In the final overs, Zeeshan Ansari provided a late surge with a quickfire 20 off 11 balls, hitting a few boundaries to boost the total. Rizvi remained unbeaten at 88 runs off 77 balls, featuring 10 fours and 2 sixes, ensuring Uttar Pradesh crossed the 300-run threshold.

Chetan Sakariya was the standout bowler for Saurashtra, finishing with impressive figures of 3/54 from his 10 overs. Prerak Mankad and Ankur Panwar each took 2 wickets, while Parswaraj Rana claimed 1 wicket for 24 runs.