Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh will lock horns in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. While Tamil Nadu defeated Saurashtra in the semi-final, Himachal Pradesh thumped Services to march ahead.
Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra
In a high-scoring clash in Jaipur, Tamil Nadu chased down a target of 311 runs in the final over by 2 wickets on Friday. The Vijay Shankar-led side lost a couple of early wickets but Baba Aparajith and Baba Inderjith first came in for the rescue and stitched a stand of 97 runs for the third wicket.
Indrajith was eventually dismissed for 50 off 58. Aparajith who eventually went on to notch up 122 in 124 deliveries, was then joined by Dinesh Karthik in the middle.
Karthik too chipped in with a brisk 26-ball 31 but it was Washington Sundar and Aparajith’s fifth wicket partnership of 76 runs that got the side back on track before Aparajith was sent back by Chudasama. But Sundar continued with his form and scored a fifty but was dismissed in the penultimate over for 70.
Tamil Nadu lost another wicket at the end of the 49th over bringing the equation down to 7 needed off the final over with two wickets in hand. Sai Kishore kept his cool in the final over and he along with Silambarasan guided the team over the line by 2 wickets. Sakariya returned with a fifer for his side.
Earlier, in the day, Saurashtra rode on Sheldon Jackson’s ton and half-centuries from Vishvaraj Jadeja and Arpit Vasavada to put 310/8 in 50 overs on the board. Silambarasan picked up three wickets for 54 runs in 10 overs while Vijay Shankar had four scalps to his name but at the cost of 72 runs in 10 overs.
Himachal Pradesh vs Services
Himachal Pradesh dominated the Services’ batting unit thoroughly and didn’t let them take an upper hand during the course of the innings. The Services side lost wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 174/6 before getting bundled out for 204 while chasing 282. Captain Rajat Paliwal scored a fifty for his side.
Himachal Pradesh skipper Rishi Dhawan had a brilliant day at the office as he picked up four wickets for 27 runs in 8.1 overs.
Earlier, Himachal Pradesh’s batsmen and especially Chopra, Dhakan and Vashisht struck valuable runs to help the side put 281/6 in 50 overs. Dhawan led from the front and scored 84 off 77 while Chopra notched up 78 off 109. Vashisht too made a valuable contribution with an unbeaten 29-ball 45.
Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh will play the title clash in Jaipur on Sunday.