Himachal stands between Tamil Nadu and Vijay Hazare Trophy

A formidable Tamil Nadu will start as overwhelming favourite against Himachal Pradesh, which is eyeing its maiden title, when the two teams meet in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 decider at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Sunday.

Having won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, the Vijay Shankar-led Tamil Nadu would have its eyes on a domestic white-ball double. The finalists head into the summit clash in contrasting manner. While Tamil Nadu clinched a last-ball thriller against Saurashtra in its semi-final, Rishi Dhawan-captained Himachal posted a comprehensive victory over Services in the other last-four encounter.

Different players have stepped up for Tamil Nadu in crucial junctures and head coach M Venkataramana would hope for another all-round performance from his team. Makeshift opener Baba Aparajith struck a match-winning century in the previous contest and his form bodes well for the southern powerhouse.

His opening partner Narayan Jagadeesan suffered a failure in the semi-finals, but had contributed heavily in the side’s last-eight triumph over Karnataka. With the trophy up for grabs, the 26-year-old will look to deliver his best when it is needed the most.

Baba Indrajith, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik and skipper Vijay Shankar make up a strong Tamil Nadu middle-order, with Washington Sundar and Shahrukh Khan set to take up end-over duties. Each of the above mentioned batters are capable of taking any rival attack to the cleaners and that is something Himachal will have to be wary of.

Himachal’s rather inexperienced bowling unit will have to be at its best to stop the Tamil Nadu batters from running away with the contest. Pacers Sandeep Warrier and the fast-rising R Silambarasan are expected to share the new ball again for Tamil Nadu, while R Sai Kishore and Manimaran Siddharth are likely to continue as the lead spinners.

Aparajith, Washington and Vijay Shankar have been more than just part-time bowlers in the 50-over competition, snapping up vital wickets. However, the bowling department would have to pull up its socks after the hammering it received at the hands of Sheldon Jackson and Co. here on Friday.

For Himachal, which has punched above its weight thus far, captain Rishi holds the key with both bat and ball. The experienced all-rounder would need to lead from the front if his team aims to clinch its first Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The Himachal management would be more than pleased with the form of Prashant Chopra. The opening batter played two-match winning knocks in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, hitting 99 and 78 respectively, and would be eager to underline his abilities in the final.