Madhya Pradesh sealed a 47-run victory over Kerala in their Group A Vijay Hazare Trophy clash on Monday, but the win did little to mask Venkatesh Iyer’s continuing struggles with the bat.
Defending 214, MP bowled Kerala out for 167 in 40.1 overs, completing a disciplined all-round performance. Earlier, the total was anchored by Himanshu Mantri’s composed 93, even as the innings threatened to unravel in the middle overs.
Besides Mantri, Tripuresh Singh made 25-ball 37 down the order, while opener Harsh Gawli scored 22.
Iyer, bought by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 7 crore ahead of IPL 2026, endured another lean outing at the top of the order.
The all-rounder was run out for 8 off 16 balls after a mix-up with Mantri, cutting short what was expected to be a stabilising knock.
He looked scratchy during his brief stay and never quite found his rhythm before his dismissal triggered a wobble, with MP slipping to 185 for 8 despite a solid start. Although MP registered their third consecutive win, the subdued returns from Iyer once again underlined concerns over consistency among India’s white-ball contenders.
Elsewhere, Abhishek Sharma also failed to make an impact as Punjab lost to Uttarakhand by five wickets in a Group C fixture. After showing early intent, Abhishek failed to convert his start, making 30 off 26 balls (5x4, 1x6), and Punjab soon lost wickets in a heap before Salil Arora (65) and Krish Bhagat (51) took them to a respectable 269/9.
In reply, skipper Kunal Chandela blasted 118 to guide Uttarakhand to their first win of the tournament.
Karnataka prevail over Tamil Nadu
Defending champions Karnataka notched up their third consecutive win, beating Tamil Nadu by four wickets in another Group A game.
Opting to field first, Karnataka rode on left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty's 4 for 57 and right-arm medium pacer Vidhyadar Patil (2/62) and left-arm spinner Shreesha Achar's 2/47 to restrict TN to 288 in 49.5 overs.
Chasing the total, wicket-keeper batter Krishnan Shrijith (77 off 78), skipper Mayank Agarwal (58 off 78) and Shyeras Gopal (55 off 47) made substantial contributions as Karnataka hunted down the target in 47.1 overs, reaching 293 for 6.
Tripura beat Rajatsthan
Tripura defeated Rajasthan by 66 runs to occupy the third spot in Group A.
Electing to bat, Tripura opening duo of Tejasvi Jaiwal (61 off 77) and Udiyan Bose (40 off 62) stitched 98 runs. Thereafter, Sridam Paul (50 off 61) and Rajat Dey (43 off 41) made useful contributions to take Tripura to 286 all out in 49.5 overs.
Defending the target, Vijay Shankar (4/30) and skipper Manisankar Murasingh (3/30) shone bright with the ball to restrict Rajasthan to 220.
Karan Lanmba was the lone bright spot for Rajasthan with 61 off 73 balls.
Jharkhand thrash Puducherry
Skipper Kumar Kushagra stole the limelight with a 104-ball 105, while Anukul Roy smashed 98 off 53 balls to hand Jharkhand a dominating 133-run win over Puducherry.
Sent into bat, Jharkhand rode on opener Utkarsh Singh's 70-ball 74, and Kushagra and Roy's knocks to post a mammoth 368 for 7.
In reply, Puducherry were 235 all out in 41.4 overs.
Brief scores:
Madhya Pradesh 214 all out in 46.1 overs (Himanshu Mantri 93, Tripuresh Singh 37; Ankit Sharma 4/38, Baba Aparajith 3/36) beat Kerala 167 all out in 40.1 overs (Sharafuddeen NM 42, Salman Nizar 30; Shubham Sharma 3/16, Saransh Jain 2/17, Shivang Kumar 2/42) by 47 runs.
Punjab 269 for 8 in 50 overs (Salil Arora 65, Krish Bhagat 51; Mayank Mishra 2/36) lost to Uttarakhand 270 for 5 in 47.4 overs (Kunal Chandela 118; Abhishek Sharma 2/39) by five wickets.
Tamil Nadu 288 all out in 49.5 overs (Narayan Jagadeesan 65, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 57; Abhiash Shetty 4/57) lost to Karnataka 293 for 6 in 47.1 overs (Krishnan Shrijith 77, Mayank Agarwal 58; Sunny Sandu 1/25) by 4 wickets.
Tripura 286 all out in 49.5 overs (Tejasvi Jaiswal 61, Sridam Paul 50; Aniket Choudhary 3/64) beat Rajasthan 220 all out in 44.2 overs (Karan Lamba 61; Vijay Shankar 4/30) by 66 runs.
Jharkhand 368 for 7 in 50 overs (Kumar Kushagra 105, Anukul Roy 98; Parth Vaghani 3/55) beat Puducherry 235 all out in 41.4 overs (Jashwanth Shreeram 60; Rajandeep Singh 3/47) by 133 runs.
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