Abhishek desai

Alur Cricket Stadium III: Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant struck contrasting fifties before Gujarat collapsed in the closing stages as Delhi claimed a narrow seven-run victory in their Elite Group D encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) Ground in Bengaluru on Friday.

Kohli's aggressive 77 off 61 balls and Pant's measured 70 off 79 deliveries lifted Delhi to 254/9 in 50 overs. In reply, despite being well-positioned at 213/5, Gujarat's chase faltered in the final stages and were bowled out for 247 in 47.4 overs.

Kohli exhibited his trademark fluency after arriving at the crease following the early dismissal of opener Priyansh Arya. He raced to his half-century off just 29 balls in a knock laced with 10 fours and a six before falling to left-arm spinner Vishal Jayswal for 77.