Dhruv Jurel continued his remarkable run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26, delivering a timely reminder of his growing white-ball credentials with a commanding unbeaten 160 for Uttar Pradesh against Baroda -- an innings that could not have come at a better time with India’s New Zealand ODI series looming.
Batting at No. 3 after Baroda opted to field, the 24-year-old registered his maiden List A century and a third successive fifty-plus score in the tournament.
Jurel brought up his hundred in just 78 balls and finished unbeaten on 160 off 101 deliveries, striking at a blistering 158.41. His knock, laced with 15 fours and eight sixes, took him clear at the top of the tournament’s run charts, following earlier scores of 80 and 67.
His blistering knock powered Uttar Pradesh to a facile 54-run win, their third victory on the trot, and fired them to the top of Group B.
Jurel, who came in following the departure of opener and previous game's centurion Aryan Juyal (26), shared a 131-run partnership for the fourth wicket with the World Cup-bound Rinku Singh (63 off 67 balls), who was uncharacteristically slow by his standards.
Baroda openers Shashwat Rawat (60) and Shivalik Sharma (30) did start the chase in earnest but losing Jitesh Sharma and Priyanshu Moliya in quick succession impeded their progress, with Sameer Rizvi (2/43) and spinner Sameer Rizvi (3/53) causing a lot of damage.
Still, skipper Krunal Pandya (82 off 77 balls) held out some hope till the time he was at the crease. But his departure in the 43rd over virtually stalled Baroda's victory bid.
While Jurel strengthened his case as a reliable middle-order option in the 50-over format, the spotlight fell sharply on Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant at the other end of the spectrum. Chasing a steep target of 321, Pant struggled to impose himself, scoring a 26-ball 22 before giving a catch to Jay Gohil off Chirag Jani.
However, opener Priyansh Arya and Tejasvi Dahiya made aggressive fifties as Delhi rose above the skipper's ordinary outing to beat Saurashtra by three wickets in the Group D encounter. Chasing 321, Arya (78 off 45 balls) and Tejasvi (53 off 51 balls) did the heavy lifting for a Virat Kohli-less Delhi as they romped home in 48.5 overs losing seven wickets.
Earlier, Saurashtra made a challenging 320 for seven in 50 overs, courtesy a 104-ball 115 by opener Vishvarajsinh Jadeja and an unbeaten 65-ball 95 by Ruchit Ahir.
Kohli had played a stellar role in Delhi's win in the first two matches, scoring a hundred and fifty. The star batter is set to rejoin the team on January 6 for the match against Railways at the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
Pant’s modest outing comes amid growing chatter around the selectors reassessing his place in India’s ODI plans for the New Zealand series.
As Jurel’s stock continues to rise, Pant’s subdued returns underline the fine margins currently shaping India’s white-ball selection debate.
In another Group B encounter, India pacers Mohammed Shami (3/69) and Mukesh Kumar (5/59) bowled beautifully for Bengal but Chandigarh, riding on captain Manan Vohra's 122, managed 319 in 48.2 overs.
In reply, veteran Bengal opener Abishek Porel came with a composed 106 to help his side to a six-wicket win with 14 balls to spare.
Elsewhere, Vidarbha aced a 312-run chase against Jammu and Kashmir with opener Aman Mokhade (139 off 125 balls) and middle-order batter Ravikumar Samarth (114 off 108) striking centuries.
J&K, after their 341 against Assam, made 311 for 9 with top-order batter Yawer Hassan contributing 79. But for seasoned Vidarbha it was hardly a challenge as they reached 315 for 5 with nine deliveries to spare.
Brief scores:
Saurashtra 320/7 in 50 overs (Vishvarajsinh Jadeja 115, Ruchit Ahit 95 not out; Navdeep Saini 3/41) lost to Delhi 321/7 in 48.5 overs (Priyansh Arya 78, Tejasvi Dahiya 53, Harsh Tyagi 49, Navdeep Saini 34 not out; Chirag Jani 2/51) by 3 wickets.
Andhra 221 all out in 49.2 overs (SDNV Prasad 66, Saurabh Kumar 47; Biplab Samantray 3/36, Govinda Poddar 3/36) lost to Odisha 223/4 in 43.4 overs (Govinda Poddar 89, Om T Munda 91; Satyanarayana Raju 2/49) by 6 wickets.
Railways 365/7 in 50 overs (Pratham Singh 73, Ravi Singh 88, Ashutosh Sharma 50, Zubair Ali 48 not out; Pulkit Narang 2/43) beat Services 281 all out in 47.2 overs (Sagar Dahiya 95, Ravi Chauhan 73; Raj Choudhary 3/27, Zubair Ali 2/46) by 84 runs.
Haryana 299 all out in 50 overs (Mayank Shandilya 86, HJ Rana 57, Samant Jakhar 49; Arzan Nagawaswalla 3/69, Harshal Patel 3/69) beat Gujarat 273 all out in 47.1 overs (Jaymeet Patel 67, Vishal Jayswal 51, Ravi Bishnoi 40; Anshul Kamboj 3/49) by 26 runs.
Uttar Pradesh 369 for 7 in 50 overs (Abhishek Goswami 51, Dhruv Jurel 160 not out, Rinku Singh 63; Raj Limbani 4/74) beat Baroda 315 all out in 50 overs (Shashwat Rawat 60, Krunal Pandya 82; Zeeshan Ansari 3/53, Sameer Rizvi 2/43) by 54 runs.
Hyderabad 310 for 8 in 50 overs (Rahul Singh 79, Abhirath Reddy 54, Nitesh Reddy 53; Abdul Ajij Kuraishi 3/71) lost to Assam 314 for 6 in 49.3 overs (Saurav Dihingia 91, Sibsankar Roy 112, Denish Das 54; Chama Milind 3/68) by 4 wickets.
Jammu and Kashmir 311 for 9 in 50 overs (Qamran Iqbal 54, Yawer Hassan 79; Yash Thakur 3/73, Yash Kadam 2/10) lost to Vidarbha 315 for 5 in 48.3 overs (Aman Mokhade 139, Ravikumar Samarth 114; Yudhvir Singh 3/69) by 5 wickets.
Chandigarh 319 in 48.2 overs (Manan Vohra 112, Sanyam Saini 67; Mohammed Shami 3/69, Mukesh Kumar 5/59, Shahbaz Ahmed 2/51) lost to Bengal 320 for 4 in 47.4 overs (Abishek Porel 106, Anustup Majumdar 63, Shahbaz Ahmed 76 not out) by six wickets.
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