Saurashtra will face Vidarbha in the final on January 18
Vishvaraj Jadeja slammed 18 fours and 3 sixes in the semi-final
Anmolpreet Singh scored a century for Punjab to take them to 291
Saurashtra will face Vidarbha in the final on January 18
Vishvaraj Jadeja slammed 18 fours and 3 sixes in the semi-final
Anmolpreet Singh scored a century for Punjab to take them to 291
When Punjab would have posted 291 runs on board in a semi-final, the last thing they would have thought of was a 9-wicket drubbing with more than 10 overs remaining.
However, Saurashtra's opener Vishvaraj Jadeja had some other plans, as he made light work of the 292-run target with his blistering, unbeaten knock of 165 and took his team into the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in sheer style.
Earlier, Anmolpreet Singh slammed a superb century to take Punjab to a competitive first innings total. Skipper Prabhsimran Singh also joined the party with a scintillating 89-run knock. However, Chetan Sakariya pulled things back for Saurashtra and restricted Punjab to 291 on a good batting track.
While chasing the target of 292 runs, Saurashtra got off to a dream start as openers - Harvik Desai (64) and Vishvaraj Jadeja forged a 172-run stand for the first wicket in 23 overs.
The wicket didn't make any difference for Saurashtra as the next batter, Prerak Mankad (52*), complemented Jadeja well to stitch another unbeaten 121 run stand for the second wicket to take their home with nine wickets and 63 balls to spare.
Jadeja displayed shot-making of the highest order in his 165 runs unbeaten innings and smashed 18 fours and 3 sixes during the course of the chase. Saurashtra will now face last year's runners-up Vidarbha in the final, who are also in sublime form, thus paving the way for a riveting final contest.