Express News Service
CHENNAI: If you’d asked anyone in the Tamil Nadu camp halfway through the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Himachal Pradesh, they would have been happy and confident about the score on board.
But, a bunch of youngsters, led by the energetic Rishi Dhawan, stunned the cricket aficionados, beating Tamil Nadu to bag the coveted 50-over Trophy — their first major title across formats — at Jaipur on Sunday.
Himachal needed 16 runs to win off 15 balls when play was suspended due to bad light. The Dhawan-led side were 299 for 4 in 47.3 overs when they were declared winners per the VJD Method as they were 11 runs ahead. Thus, Himachal cut short Tamil Nadu’s bid for a record-extending sixth title.
Chasing a mammoth 315, Himachal’s cause was well served by Shubham Arora, who made an unbeaten 136, along with Amit Kumar’s valuable 74.
One cannot forget Rishi Dhawan’s quick fire 42 off 23 balls that brought his side closer to the target. He led the team to a fairy tale finish and it is only fair to say that they deserved the title for their perseverance.
“It was long pending (title) and we’ve finally done it. Really happy,” said Dhawan after the match.
“We had played a few games here (Jaipur), so we knew that the pitch was good and the outfield was very quick, so if we batted deep, we could chase it down. I was telling Shubham not to take any pressure, just get a single and I’ll handle the pressure.”
When you are set a target of 300 plus in a final, it is imperative that at least two batters contribute with a big score and stay till the end. Arora played his role to perfection.
He used his feet well against Tamil Nadu spinners and was judicious in his shot selection against Sandeep Warrier and R Silambarasan.
His 148-run stand with Amit completely blunted Tamil Nadu hopes of making a comeback into the game.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu managed to post a challenging total, thanks to Dinesh Kathik’s 116. Baba Indrajith, who made 80, was a perfect foil to him as they revived the innings from 40/4 to 242/5.
Brief scores: TN 314 in 49.4 ovs (Karthik 116, Indrajith 80; Jaswal 4/59) lost to HP 299/4 in 47.3 ovs (Arora 136 n.o, Kumar 74, Dhawan 42 n.o) (VJD method).
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