KOLKATA: Middle-order batsman Prerak Mankad on Saturday took Eden Gardens by storm with a sensational 174 to power Saurashtra to a 62-run win over Chandigarh in a group E clash of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here.
The 26-year-old plundered six sixes and 16 fours in his knock from 130 balls to propel Saurashtra to a massive 388 for 7 after Chandigarh opted to bowl.
In reply, Chandigarh, who have been impressive in their debut Elite season with three wins on the trot, could manage 326 for 7.
The win helped Saurashtra consolidate their lead with 16 points, four clear of Chandigarh to close in on a quarterfinal spot.
Saurashtra lost both their openers, Avi Barot (25) and Snell Patel (20) inside 11 overs but thereafter it was all about Prerak, who stitched two century-plus stands with Vishvaraj Jadeja (50 off 53 balls; 3×4, 2×6) and Arpit Vasavada (71 off 52 balls; 5×4, 2×6) to lead the charge.
The No 4 batsman paced his innings brilliantly taking 53 balls for his half-century before he stepped up to race to his second List A century in the next 39 balls.
There was no stopping Prerak as he took another 27 balls to cruise to 150. He was dismissed by Jagjit Singh in the final over but the damage had been done.
Chirag Jani too scored a quickfire 30 not out from 10 balls (3×4, 2×6) to end their innings on a high.
Chasing the target, Chandigarh skipper Manan Vohra (50) and Arslan Khan (61) put on a century-plus stand and then Ankit Kaushik chipped in with 54 but it proved too little in the end.
Brief Scores:
At Eden Gardens: Saurashtra 388/7; 50 overs (Prerak Mankad 174, Vishvaraj Jadeja 50; Jaskaran Singh 4/60) b Chandigarh 326/7 (Ankit Kaushik 54, Manan Vohra 50, Gautam Gambhir 40 not out) by 62 runs.
At JU Second Campus, Saltlake: Services 287/5; 50 overs (Rajat Paliwal 78 not out, Shivam Tiwari 74) b Haryana 175; 43.3 overs (Jayant Yadav 59) by 112 runs.
At 22 Yards Academy: Bengal 368/4; 50 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 99, Anustup Majumdar 92 not out, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury 55, Shahbaz Ahmed 48 not out, Kaif Ahmed 42) b Jammu & Kashmir 286; 45.3 overs (Abid Mushtaq 68, Parvez Rasool 50; Arnab Nandi 4/46) by 82 runs.