Himachal Pradesh team celebrates after winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021.
Confident Himachal Pradesh thrashed mighty Tamil Nadu by 11 runs in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Sunday.
Youngster Shubham Arora went all guns blazing with his maiden List A century as Himachal defeated five-time champions Tamil Nadu under the VJD method to win their maiden home ODI championship.
Chasing 315, Himachal Pradesh, who were playing their maiden Vijay Hazare final, posted an unbeaten 136 in style with the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman hitting 13 fours and a six.
Himachal needed 299/4 in 47.3 overs and 16 runs in 15 balls, bad light suspended game at 5 pm, before Himachal were declared winners under the VJD method.
Tamil Nadu has been the best home team in the country in white-ball cricket since the 2019-20 season.
After losing in the finals of the ODI and T20 competitions in 2019, the team has won back-to-back titles in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20s (2020-21 and 2021-22), but underdog Himachal defeated the favorites on this. racked up. chance.
A day when the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman and former captain Dinesh Karthik Playing a captivating innings of 116 off 103 balls, Himachal’s young glove overtook the veteran pro with his well-calculated, unbeaten century under pressure.
After fielding at a flat Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Rishi Dhawan took another good decision to send Amit Kumar ahead of him as the captain decided to play the role of a finisher.
The move paid dividends as Arora and Amit’s left-right combination (74 off 79 balls; 6×4) added 148 runs for the fourth wicket in a match-winning partnership.
Baba Aparajith gave TN the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Amit, after which Himachal needed 71 off 54 balls, but Rishi played his part to perfection, taking the rival bowling attack easy at the end.
Eyeing a record sixth title in the tournament and a doubling in limited overs this season, Tamil Nadu, who recently won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, were down on the field.
captain Vijay Shankar When Arora was on 113, he was presented with a crucial run-out opportunity when he stumbled.
Arora was also given grass by Jagdishan when he was on 135, Himachal needed 18 off 18 balls.
Man of the match Arora said, “The team has supported me throughout the tournament. I just wanted to play my natural game and build on my innings after getting set.”
An excited Dhawan said: “Finally we have won a title, it is the result of our hard work over the years. We knew the conditions here very well and so we just have to stay there.”
Himachal, eyeing their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title, started off strongly with a 60-run opening stand between Arora and Prashant Chopra (21 off 26 balls).
But Tamil Nadu dealt a double blow leaving Chopra, Digvijay Rangi (0) on 61/2 in 9.3 overs in a span of five balls.
Murugan Ashwin dismissed Nikhil Gangta in his very first ball to reduce HP to 96/3 in 16.1 overs.
But left-hander Arora remained calm, while Amit Kumar played a perfect second, coming ahead of skipper Rishi.
The left-right combination swings the strike and snatches quick singles.
Arora and Kumar slowly pulled the game out of Tamil Nadu’s hands as they struggled to break the partnership.
Arora was a very strong section of the wicket and fine leg. Even luck favored Arora as he scored 99 after taking a huge outside edge off Sandeep Warrier, but a stretched Karthik could barely reach the ball.
Earlier, Karthik’s century and Shah Rukh Khan’s fine finishing – 42 off 21 balls with three fours and three sixes – took Tamil Nadu to 40 for four at a time.
Karthik hit eight fours and seven sixes. Baba Inderjit scored 80 runs in 71 balls.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu: 314 all out in 49.4 overs (Dinesh Karthik 116, Baba Inderjit 80, Shah Rukh Khan 42; Pankaj Jaswal 4/59, Rishi Dhawan 3/62) lost to Himachal Pradesh 299/4; 47.3 overs (Shubham Arora 136 not out, Amit Kumar 74, Rishi Dhawan 42 not out) by 11 runs (VJD method after bad light suspended game).
(Inputs from PTI)
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