Delhi, March 10

Delhi v Mumbai

Mumbai thrashed Delhi by a whopping 140 runs to ensure a final berth in the 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Trophy final. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Mumbai put up a mammoth 295 for the loss of five wickets after which the visitors bowled Delhi out for 155 in just 45 overs.

The stars of Mumbai’s batting effort were former India player, Wasim Jaffer, and Abhishek Nayar. Jaffer’s 72-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane (42), and his 110-ball innings of 92, set Mumbai up for a score of 250-plus. Nayar, batting at No. 5, then ensured that the visitors got close to 300 as he clobbered 72 off just 41 deliveries at the end of Mumbai’s innings. Ashish Nehra (6.5-0-18-0) and Rajat Bhatia (10-046-1) were the only Delhi bowlers who ended with respectable figures as Nayar’s assault powered Mumbai to 295.

With Gautam Gambhir having left for the Asia Cup, the target was always going to be an uphill struggle for the hosts. However, after Unmukt Chand (12) and Shikhar Dhawan (34) battled their way to a 40-run opening stand in 8.3 overs, Delhi simply collapsed. With Ashish Nehra not being able to bat, Delhi lost their remaining nine wickets for the addition of just another 115 runs. Middle-order batsman Jagrit Anand was the only Delhi player to show some fight as he battled it out with an 88-ball 51.

The man responsible for orchestrating Delhi’s collapse was Mumbai medium-pacer Anup Revandkar who finished with figures of 10-0-37-3. Kshemal Waingankar and Iqbal Abdulla took two wickets each.

Brief scores: Mumbai 295/5 in 50 overs (Wasim Jaffer 92, Abhishek Nayar 72*, Parvinder Awana 2/76) beat Delhi 155/9 in 45 overs (Jagrit Anand 51, Anup Revandkar 3/37) by 140 runs

Man-of-the-match: Wasim Jaffer for his well-paced innings of 92 that set Mumbai up for a winning score

Punjab v Bengal

Bengal edged Punjab by three wickets in the other semi-final encounter to book a place in the 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Trophy final.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Punjab were in all kinds of trouble at 34 for five in 12.1 overs. However, an attritional half-century from No. 4 batsman Mandeep Singh (66 off 110 balls), who struck a 104-run stand for the sixth wicket with No. 7 batsman Bipul Sharma (59 off 79), brought Punjab back in the contest. After Sharma and Singh were dismissed in the 27th and 43rd overs respectively, Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh hit a feisty 50-ball 39 (6x4) to take Punjab past the 200-run mark in 50 overs. Sourav Sarkar and Arnab Nandi took two wickets each for Bengal.

Chasing 205, Bengal stuttered to a score of 111 for the loss of five wickets as left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh (three for 19) did the early damage for Punjab. Sourav Ganguly (24), batting at No. 3, failed to get the Bengal innings going on the right note. However, an unbeaten half-century from Wriddhiman Saha (53*) along with some crucial contributions from the lower order – Debabrata Das (23) and Shami Ahmed (22* off seven balls) – saw Bengal scramble home with three wickets and 13 deliveries to spare.

Brief scores: Bengal 208/7 in 47.5 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 53*, Rajwinder Singh 3/19) beat Punjab 205/8 in 50 overs (Mandeep Singh 66, Bipul Sharma 59, Sourav Sarkar 2/24) by three wickets

Man-of-the-match:Wriddhiman Saha for his composed innings of 53* that saw Bengal through in a tense run-chase.

The 2011-12 Vijay Hazare Trophy final will now be played between Mumbai and Bengal on March 12 in Delhi.