Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25: Shahrukh, debutant Mohammed Ali shine as Tamil Nadu beats Uttar Pradesh by 114 runs
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25: Shahrukh, debutant Mohammed Ali shine as Tamil Nadu beats Uttar Pradesh by 114 runs
M Shahrukh Khan (132 n.o., 85b, 13×4, 7×6) led the way for Tamil Nadu, slamming a brilliant unbeaten hundred to help his side post a thumping 114-run win over Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy league match at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium at Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Put into bat, TN got off to a bad start when left-arm pacer Yash Dayal took two wickets in the first over, removing N. Jagadeesan and Pradosh Ranjan Paul without a run on the board.
From 19 for three, B. Indrajith and Vijay Shankar got things back on track before they were dismissed in quick succession, and TN was in a precarious position at 68 for five.
Then, Shahrukh and debutant S. Mohammed Ali joined forces (76 n.o., 75b, 8×4, 1×6) and played superbly to revive TN’s innings, with the former completing his maiden List A century.
The two swashbuckling right-handers stitched an unbroken 216-run partnership for the sixth wicket in just 151 balls to help the five-time champion post a competitive score of 284 for five in 47 overs (truncated).
Sharukh was particularly severe on pacer Shivam Mavi, tonking him for four sixes as TN plundered 122 runs in the last 10 overs.
In reply, UP’s chase got off on the wrong note, losing openers cheaply. Nitish Rana and Priyam Garg got their side back in the hunt, adding 56 for the fourth wicket.
However, medium-pacer Shankar struck twice in two overs to remove both the set batters as Rinku Singh’s side went from 95 for three to 108 for five.
Later, spinners Varun Chakravarthy and R. Sai Kishore cleaned up the lower-order to bundle out UP for 170.
“Our target was to bat the full quota of overs because we knew we would get a good score if we did that. Ali played a mature knock that allowed me to take on the faster bowlers towards the end of the innings. To have a win with a big margin against a team like UP is good for us,” said Shahrukh.
