Alur/Bangalore: Defending a modest total of 248 runs, Gujarat propelled by some astonishing bowling (6 for 43) from spinner Axar Patel beat Tamil Nadu by 31 runs in the semi-final of Vijay Hazare Trophy at KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur on Saturday.

Batting first, Gujarat were off to a bad start as they lost their first five wickets under 100 runs within 25 overs. But thanks to Manpreet Juneja (74 off 71 balls) and Chirag Gandhi (71 off 82 balls), Gujarat managed to reach 248 for 8 in 50 overs. Ashwin (3/51) and V Shankar (2/36) were the mai wicket-takers for Tamil Nadu.

Chasing the target, Tamil Nadu started off well with A Mukund and KD Karthik who added 84 runs for the first wicket. Thereafter, it was Axar Patel all the way as he tangled the rivals in his spin web and went on to take six wickets to help Gujarat win a place in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Mukund was the only batsman to show resilience and carried his bat, scoring 104 off 142 balls.

In another semi-final, riding on an unbeaten half century (80 off 86 balls) from Unmukt Chand, Delhi beat Himachal by six wickets with 53 balls to spare at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.