Himachal Pradesh beat Tamil Nadu: Himachal Pradesh beat a domestic stalwart to win their first-ever national title.
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During the final match of the ongoing season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy between Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in Jaipur, Himachal Pradesh beat Tamil Nadu by 11 runs (VJD Method) to win their first-ever Vijay Hazare title.
Chasing a formidable 315-run target against a domestic stalwart, Himachal Pradesh primarily thrived on the back of a match-winning 148-run partnership for the fourth wicket between wicket-keeper batter Shubham Arora (136*) and batter Amit Kumar (74).
It was in the 42nd over that Tamil Nadu’s Baba Aparajith found Kumar wanting in front of the stumps. Walking in to bat at No. 6 with his team needing 71 runs to win off 53 balls, Himachal Pradesh captain Rishi Dhawan (42*) made optimum use of his experience to find boundaries at will in a bid to script a historic victory.
Playing his maiden List A tournament, Arora batted in the exact manner needed to seal such a chase. Having completed his maiden List A century in the 35th over, Arora did slow down in the third powerplay but was wise enough to not play a rash shot barring one in the 47th over when he got a reprieve from Narayan Jagadeesan. Arora, who was exceptional in milking singles in his heroic knock, managed a strike rate of 103.81.
Earlier, it was Dhawan who had invited Tamil Nadu in to bat first after winning the toss. A 202-run partnership for the fifth wicket between wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik (116) and batter Baba Indrajith (80) had played a pivotal role in Tamil Nadu putting on board 314/10 in 49.4 overs.
Himachal Pradesh pacer Pankaj Jaswal was the pick of their bowlers with bowling figures of 9.4-0-59-4. Dhawan, who has finished the season as its second-highest wicket-taker, registered bowling figures of 10-0-62-3 at the Sawai Mansingh Cricket Stadium today.
Himachal Pradesh beat Tamil Nadu in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 final match
What is VJD Method in cricket?
It is worth mentioning that VJD Method is used in Indian domestic cricket as a substitute for DLS Method. The method had to be used to find a result today after umpires deemed the light not being good enough for play to continue.
When the interruption happened, Himachal Pradesh had needed 16 runs off 15 balls. According to the VJD Method, their target was 289 runs in 47.3 overs. Hence, they were announced as the winners in the final match.
