Vishvaraj Jadeja’s unbeaten knock guides Saurashtra to nine-wicket win over Punjab, sets up final clash with Vidarbha

Vishvaraj Jadeja’s unbeaten knock of 165 guided Saurashtra to a dominant nine-wicket victory over Punjab, securing their spot in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Vidarbha

Vijay Hazare Trophy, Saurashtra vs Punjab, Vijay Hazare Trophy Final, Vidarbha vs Saurashtra, Visvaraj Jadeja, Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Naman Dhir, Nehal Wadhera, Gurnoor Brar, Harvik Desai, Prerak Mankad, — Vishvaraj Jadeja guides Saurashtra to nine-wicket win, sets up Vijay Hazare final vs Vidarbha

New Delhi: Vishvaraj Jadeja’s unbeaten knock of 165 guided Saurashtra to a dominant nine-wicket victory over Punjab, securing their spot in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Vidarbha which is scheduled to be played on Sunday.

After the Saurashtra bowlers restricted Punjab to a below-par 291, Jadeja played an explosive 127-ball innings, smashing 18 fours and 3 sixes.

The right-hander batter was supported by his opening partner Harvik Desai, who scored 64, as the duo stitched 172 runs in just 23 overs. Prerak Mankad (52 not out) also played a crucial role as Saurashtra comfortably chased down the target in 39.3 overs. Jadeja also put together an unbroken 121 run partnership with Mankad for second-wicket.

Jadeja smahsed just 29 balls fifty

Saurashtra displayed dominant batting as Jadeja and Desai hammered 23 runs off pacer Krish Bhagat in the seventh over and maintained a strong momentum throughout the innings. Jadeja reached his fifty in just 29 balls before adopting a steadier approach, taking another 45 balls to notch his third List A century.

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Desai was dismissed in between off Gurnoor Brar’s delivery to, but it was only a brief hiccup as Jadeja went on to surpass his maiden 150 in List A cricket. The dominant batter soon sealed Saurashtra’s victory with a boundary off Dhir.

Punjab failed to capitalize on a solid start

Earlier, Punjab failed to capitalize on a solid start and ended up with a below-par total. Harnoor Singh and skipper Prabhsimran Singh put on 60 runs for the opening wicket before Harnoor was run out. The second-wicket partnership proved even more fruitful, with Prabhsimran Singh and Anmolpreet putting together 109 runs.

Prabhsimran dominated Saurashtra’s bowler, smashing his trademark powerful leg-side shots. However, his aggressive approach ultimately cost him, as a huge slog off pacer Chirag Jani was caught by a substitute fielder in the deep. Meanwhile, Anmolpreet kept the scoreboard ticking, reaching his century off 103 balls. He brought up the landmark in style, hitting two successive fours off Jani to reach 97, then taking a two and a single to pass 100.

Punjab collapses from 275/5 to 291 all out as Sakariya shines

Anmolpreet’s innings also helped Punjab recover from the blow of losing two quick wickets, Naman Dhir and Nehal Wadhera, in the 36th over, pushing the score to 275 for four by the 47th over. However, Anmolpreet’s dismissal by Chetan Sakariya proved pivotal. From 275 for 5, Punjab collapsed, losing the remaining five wickets for just 16 runs as Sakariya delivered a brilliant death-over spell.

This collapse proved decisive, allowing Saurashtra to chase down the target comfortably under lights, with the Punjab bowlers struggling to make an impact.