Saurashtra's Vishvaraj Jadeja.
Credit: PTI
Bengaluru: Opener Vishvaraj Jadeja hammered a blazing century on a chilly evening at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence as Saurashtra outplayed Punjab in a high-scoring semifinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Friday.
Jadeja (161 n.o., 126b, 17x4, 3x6) and his opening partner Desai (64, 63b, 9x4) made mockery of a competitive 292-run target with a blistering opening wicket stand of 167 runs in just 23 overs that powered the two-time champions to a thumping nine-wicket victory with 10.3 overs to spare. On Sunday, Saurashtra will take on an equally in-form Vidarbha in what promises to be a high-octane final.
From the moment Jadeja and Desai took guard under the lights, their intentions were very clear — go as hard as possible against the Punjab bowlers. The 27-year-old Jadeja was the initial aggressor, flicking anything that was directed at the middle or leg-side line with absolute disdain. When Punjab tried the off-stump trajectory to counter it, Jadeja was equally up for the task, driving and cutting with absolute ease on a belter of a pitch. Even after the Powerplay fielding restrictions, Jadeja ensured Vidarbha maintained a high tempo in the chase by getting a boundary almost every over.
It was one of those days when a batter was in his zone and the bowlers were nothing but battering rams. Despite playing in top gear for the entirety of his innings, Jadeja hardly essayed a false shot except when on 120 when he was dropped in the deep. His assault was calculated and all Punjab could do was hope they were able to bowl a special delivery or Jadeja got out on his own — none of which happened.
Desai played an ideal foil for Jadeja. Seeing Jadeja smash everything in his sight, Desai just focussed on giving his partner as much of the strike. However, at the same time, he too went about his job at a brisk pace, scoring boundaries at regular intervals. The double whammy forced Punjab into submission midway through the chase itself and thereafter they just went through the motions.
Punjab were left to rue the failure of their middle-order to build on the brilliant foundation laid by their top-order for the loss. Opener Prabhsimran Singh scored a measured 87 off 89 balls (9x4, 3x6), missing out on a century while trying to up the ante, while one-drop Anmolpreet Singh cracked a composed 100 off 105 balls (9x4, 1x6) as Punjab looked like surpassing 300 when the duo were batting.
Both Prabhsimran and Anmolpreet nicely alternated between caution and aggression during their 109-run stand for the second wicket, but once the former was dismissed by Chirag Jani in the 32nd over against the run of play, Punjab struggled to get a move-on. Barring a fighting 38-ball 42 from Ramandeep Singh, the rest of the middle and lower order batters were out for single-digit scores.
The constant fall of wickets, orchestrated by a fine 4/60 from pacer Chetan Sakariya, ensured Saurashtra always kept Punjab in check, and that eventually made the difference as the pitch eased up further under lights.
Brief scores: Punjab: 291 all out in 50 overs (Harnoor Singh 33, Prabhsimran Singh 87, Anmolpreet Singh 100, Ramandeep Singh 42; Chetan Sakariya 4-60, Ankur Panwar 2-54, Chirag Jani 2-73) lt to Saurashtra: 293/1 in 39.3 overs (Harvik Desai 64, Vishvaraj Jadeja 165 n.o., Prerak Mankad 52 n.o.) by 8 wkts.
Player of the Match: Vishvaraj Jadeja
Final: Jan 18: Vidarbha vs Saurashtra