Jaipur, Jan 3 (NationPress) Arshin Kulkarni recorded his second List A century, leading Maharashtra to a resounding 128-run victory over Mumbai and putting an end to their unbeaten streak in the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group C on Saturday. The right-handed opener scored 114 runs off 114 balls, hitting 11 fours and three sixes, and formed a solid 140-run opening partnership with Prithvi Shaw (71 off 75) after Maharashtra chose to bat first in foggy conditions.

Mumbai faced an early blow when captain Shardul Thakur had to leave the field after bowling just six overs. Shaw was on course for a century before he was dismissed lbw by Musheer Khan, who celebrated with enthusiasm. Maharashtra found stability through captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored a resilient 66 off 52 balls.

Kulkarni and Gaikwad added 108 runs for the third wicket, taking advantage of poor fielding from Mumbai, which resulted in more than five dropped catches. Ramakrishna Ghosh contributed an unbeaten 64 off 27 balls, including an explosive 30 runs off Sylvester D'Souza in a single over, helping Maharashtra post a total of 366/4.

In response, Mumbai's chase faltered early on, with Yashasvi Jaiswal dismissed after just nine balls and Musheer falling for a duck, leaving the score at 4/2. Angkrish Raghuvanshi (92) and Siddhesh Lad (52) attempted a recovery, forming a 99-run partnership before Satyajeet Bachhav got rid of Lad lbw.

With Sarfaraz Khan sidelined due to leg stiffness, Mumbai's middle order collapsed. Raghuvanshi fought valiantly but fell short of his maiden List A century by eight runs. Despite struggling to run, Shardul returned to bat but managed only five deliveries as Mumbai was bowled out for 238 in 42 overs.

In another match, Pukhraj Mann scored a brilliant 134 off 121 balls, but his effort was in vain as Chhattisgarh chased down Himachal Pradesh's 320/8 with just two balls to spare in a nail-biting contest. Mann came to the crease with his team in dire straits at 32/2 in the sixth over and hit 11 fours and two sixes in a courageous innings.

He formed a 178-run partnership with wicketkeeper Innesh Mahajan, who narrowly missed a century with a score of 95. However, Chhattisgarh's collective batting performance, spearheaded by Aayush Pandey’s 78, was crucial for their thrilling finish.

Meanwhile, Aanjaneya Suryavanshi's unbeaten 115 off 87 balls outshone Goa's opener Snehal Kauthankar's century as Uttarakhand successfully chased a target of 271 runs with 3.4 overs to spare.

Uttarakhand found themselves in trouble at 83/3 before Suryavanshi turned the game around with a match-winning 191-run partnership alongside Shashwat Dangwal, who scored a run-a-ball 70. Kauthankar's 105 had earlier anchored Goa's innings, but Suryavanshi's explosive performance proved decisive.

Summary of scores:

Maharashtra 366/4 in 50 overs (Arshin Kulkarni 114, Prithvi Shaw 71; Tushar Deshpande 2-83) defeated Mumbai 238 all out in 42 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 92, Siddhesh Lad 52; Pradeep Dadhe 3-43) by 128 runs.

Himachal Pradesh 320/8 in 50 overs (Pukhraj Mann 134, Innesh Mahajan 95; Ravi Kiran 3-65) lost to Chhattisgarh 321/7 in 49.4 overs (Aayush Pandey 78, Amandeep Khare 72; Vaibhav Arora 2-70) by three wickets.

Goa 270 in 50 overs (Snehal Kauthankar 105, Abhinav Tejrana 54; Jagadeesha Suchith 3-54) lost to Uttarakhand 274/3 in 46.2 overs (Aanjaneya Suryavanshi 115 not out, Shashwat Dangwal 70; Vasuki Koushik 1-28) by seven wickets.