When the two teams face off in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Jaipur on Sunday, formidable Tamil Nadu will start as strong contenders against the outsiders from Himachal Pradesh, eyeing their maiden title. Both the teams made it to the finals in opposite ways.
Former India player Rishi Dhawan-led Himachal entered the final crushing services by 77 runs while Tamil Nadu thrashed Saurashtra by two wickets to register a thrilling last-ball win. After winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season, Tamil Nadu will be eyeing a double by capturing the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well.
It has been an all-round performance by the southern giants with various players performing in various games so far and the same is expected to happen at the picturesque Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday.
The way Baba Aparajith has improved their game since India A’s return from the South Africa tour, Tamil Nadu team will be happy as a punch. Their opening partner N Jagadeesan is also in good shape, has put in a ton of performances against Karnataka and will be keen to score runs leaving the failure behind in the semi-finals.
A line-up that includes undefeated twin brother Baba Inderjeet, who scored a crucial half-century in the last four clashes, skipper Vijay Shankar, veteran Dinesh Karthik combined with the final firepower of M Shah Rukh Khan and MS Washington Sundar could send It shakes the backbone of any bowling attack. And, Himachal’s inexperienced attack will need to perform at their best if they hope to stop the TN juggler from running away from the game.
Washington Sundar, who is on his way back from injury during the England tour, will gain a lot of confidence in the semi-finals from his scintillating 70-run knock, which played a key role in the team’s victory. Shah Rukh, with his power-hitting abilities, could change the color of the game in an instant and could probably be the difference between the two sides. TN’s trio of spinners- Sai Kishore, M Siddhartha and Washington could be more than a handful for Himachal’s batsmen.
However, he has to pull up his socks after the hammer was found by Sheldon Jackson & Co on Friday. Fast bowlers Sandeep Warrier and R Silambarasan have often fired early shots and this is something that will put the Himachal side on alert. Apart from this, Vijay Shankar will also be keen to play a role with his medium pace stuff.
For Himachal, who has punched above his own weight, skipper Dhawan will hold the key with both bat and ball. He has to lead from the front if his team is to win its first Hazare Trophy. Himachal management will be very happy with Prashant Chopra’s form. The opening batsman played two-match winning innings in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, scoring 99 and 78 respectively, and would be keen to underline his abilities in the final.
However, Himachal seem to be heavily dependent on these three batsmen and others like Shubham Arora, Digvijay Rangi, Amit Kumar, Akash Vashisht need to contribute to the team’s cause, which could make the final a one-sided affair.
The match will start at 9 am IST.
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