Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 18 : A magnificent century from opener Atharva Taide and a comprehensive bowling performance have helped Vidarbha clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy after they defeated Saurashtra in the grand finale on Sunday.
This is the first time Vidarbha has won the 50-over BCCI domestic tournament.
While chasing a competitive target of 318 runs, Saurashtra were bundled out for 279 in 48.5 overs and lost the final match by 38 runs.
Prerak Mankad played a fighting knock of 88 runs off 92 deliveries, including 10 fours. Chirag Jani chipped in with 64 runs off 63 deliveries, including three fours and two sixes, as the rest of the batters failed to convert their start, which cost the match.
With the ball, speedster Yash Thakur delivered a sensational spell. He took a four-wicket haul (4/50) in 9.5 overs. Thakur was well supported by Nachiket Bhute (3/46), and Darshan Nalkande (2/52), which helped Vidarbha clinch the title.
Earlier, Saurashtra won the toss and elected to field first. An 80-run stand took place between Aman and Atharva Taide for Vidarbha. A mega 133-run stand between Taide (128 in 118 balls, with 15 fours and three sixes) and Yash Rathod (54 in 61 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took Vidarbha beyond the 200-run mark.
Ankur Panwar (4/65) and Chetan Sakariya (2/45) contained the rest of the line-up well today, taking Vidarbha to 317/8 in 50 overs.
During the match, Vidarbha batter Aman Mokhade joined Prithvi Shaw of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu's N Jagadeesan to become the third batter to smash 800-plus runs in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Above him are: Shaw (827 runs in eight innings at an average of 165.40 and a strike rate of over 138, with four centuries and a fifty and best score of 227*) for Mumbai in the 2020/21 edition and Jagadeesan (830 runs in eight innings at an average of 138.33, with a strike rate of over 125 and best score of 277, which is also the highest score in List-A cricket history).