Vidarbha secure a commanding victory, booking their spot in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final for the first time, where they will face Karnataka in the final showdown. Time to wrap up this coverage. For now, it’s me Deepak Prakash signing off on behalf of colleagues, Hiren Kumar, Sumeet Mate and Sahil Khan. CHEERS!
Karun Nair (Vidarbha Captain): "This is a special unit, and the journey so far has been incredible. We have one final step to take. Everyone has contributed along the way, and it’s heartening to see us celebrating each other’s success.
Just one more game remains, and that would be the icing on the cake. Big or small, every contribution has mattered at some point. (On facing Karnataka in the final) It’s just another game, though it’s the final. We need to bring our best cricket to claim victory."
Yash Rathod (Player of the Match): "Batting was enjoyable out there. The wicket was decent—slightly on the slower side but still coming on nicely. Early on, the ball wasn’t coming off well; it was staying low, and the odd one was bouncing awkwardly.
Our plan was to take our time and assess conditions before accelerating. We’ve been opening together for the last four games, and the coordination has been great. I had 300 in mind, but anything beyond that was a bonus."
Player of the Match: Yash Rathod
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Maharashtra Captain): "We had a tough day right from the start of the first innings. Credit to Vidarbha—they completely outplayed us in the batting department. As for the fielding, mistakes happen, but no one does it intentionally. They batted exceptionally well, capitalizing on the loose deliveries. Full credit to them for their performance."
Time for post-match presentation.....
9:33 PM IST, Local Time: A comfortable victory for Vidarbha and they advance to the grand finale of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. This is the first time Vidarbha have qualified for the final in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. They will face mighty Karnataka in the summit clash.
Earlier, after being invited to bat first, Dhruv Shorey (114) and Yash Rathod (116) laid a solid foundation for Vidarbha as the duo adopted a cautious approach and switched gears as the innings progressed. They stitched together a marathon 224 runs for the first wicket, with both openers smashing their respective centuries. Following the dismissal of both openers, Jitesh Sharma and Karun Nair carried the momentum provided by their openers and scored briskly at the tail end of the innings. Jitesh departed for 51 runs, but Nair unleashed his inner fury and delivered an unbeaten 88 runs off 44 balls, propelling Vidarbha to 380/3 in 50 overs. Maharashtra got off to a shaky start in pursuit of a mammoth 380 runs as they lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (7) and Rahul Tripathi (27) inside the first powerplay. Arshin Kulkarni and Siddhesh Veer steadied the ship for a while but the latter couldn’t convert his start into a big score, departing for 30 runs off 43 balls. Arshin Kulkarni (90) and Ankit Bawne (50) put things back on track by adding 94 runs for the 4th wicket but Vidarbha bowlers removed both set batters in quick succession to put Maharashtra in deep waters.
Nikhil Naik delivered an entertaining knock of 49 runs off 26 balls but it was too late by then as Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side were restricted to 311/7 in their 50-over quota, falling 69 runs short of Vidarbha’s total.
Nachiket Bhute and Darshan Nalkande bagged three wickets each for Vidarbha, while Parth Rekhade celebrated a solitary wicket.