Vijay Hazare: Pant falters again as Delhi suffer shocking loss at the hands of Odisha
Ahead of the squad announcement for the New Zealand ODIs, all eyes were on Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant, who faltered with the bat against Odisha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26.
New Delhi: India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant failed to fire again as Delhi suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Odisha in the fourth round fixture of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 in Alur, Karnataka.
Pant's batting failure, coupled with Delhi's rest of the batting line-up falling like a pack of cards, led to the end of their unbeaten run as Odisha registered a famous 79-run victory in a fourth-round Group D match.
Ahead of the squad announcement for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, all eyes were on Delhi skipper Pant.
But the seasoned cricketer managed to score just 24 as the star-studded Delhi batting, sans Virat Kohli, imploded and folded for just 193 in 43.3 overs in the chase of Odisha's total of 272/8.
The shocking loss cost Delhi not just the match but also their top position on the points table, which saw Odisha go top with 12 points and a healthy net run rate (NRR).
MP, Karnataka continue unbeaten run
Meanwhile, Saurashtra defeated Andhra by 74 runs, Gujarat lost to Railways by 4 wickets, and Haryana defeated Services by 7 wickets.
Elsewhere, defending champions Karnataka remained unbeaten with a comfortable 67-run win against Puducherry. Karnataka rode on centuries from skipper Mayank Agarwal and Devdutt Padikkal, who added 228 runs in 37.5 overs to set the platform for a massive 363 for 4 after electing to bat.
Meanwhile, Utkarsh Singh struck 123 off 120 balls while Shubham Kumar Singh scalped 4 for 53 as Jharkhand crushed Tamil Nadu by nine wickets.
Madhya Pradesh also continued their unbeaten run as all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer's superb figures of 4 for 44, and Yash Dubey's 105 off 97 balls, powered them to an easy four-wicket win over Tripura and the top position in Group A.
Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan continued his stunning run in the tournament with a stunning 75-ball 157 studded with 14 sixes and ended the year on a high. Courtesy of his brutal knock, Mumbai inched closer towards the knockout stages with an 87-run victory over Goa in a group C game in Jaipur.