Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23 quarterfinals set to kick-off from Monday
The quarterfinals of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s top-tier domestic one-day cricket competition, are set to take place from Monday, with all eyes on Jammu and Kashmir after they secured their first-ever knockout stage win in their cricketing history by defeating Kerala in a preliminary quarterfinal on Saturday. Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh also secured their quarterfinal spot with wins over Jharkhand and Mumbai, respectively.
Punjab and four-time champions Karnataka will be locking horns with the North Indian state eyeing further progress to win their first-ever title. Maharashtra will also be eyeing a final four spot against one-time champion Uttar Pradesh.
Assam, who had finished as runners-up after a loss to Delhi in the 2012-13 final, will be looking forward to keep their top form intact against Jammu and Kashmir, who also have to climb four more stairs to clinch their first-ever domestic title. Tamil Nadu, the most successful team in tournament history with five titles will contest one-time champions Saurashtra.
This season of the tournament has seen some stunning performances with both bat and ball. TN batter Narayan Jagadeesan is the top-scorer so far, with 822 runs in just seven matches at an average of 164.40. His five centuries in the tournament are the first instance of a batter hitting five straight tons in List A cricket, a format involving ODIs and domestic competition matches with overs forty to sixty. His best score of 277 is also the highest in List A cricket history and Sai Sudharsan (154) was his partner in 416-run stand for the opening wicket against Arunachal Pradesh, the highest in List A cricket. Together, they powered TN to 506/2, the first instance of a team smashing 500 runs in List A format.
Speaking of Sudarshan, even he is in stunning form. He has scored 586 runs in seven matches at an average of 83.71, with three tons and two fifties. His best score is 154. Chhattisgarh’s Harpreet Singh (516 runs in seven matches), Maharashtra’s Rahul Tripathi (512 in six innings), and Hyderabad’s K Rohit Rayudu (490 runs in seven matches) are among top five run scorers too.
Madhya Pradesh’s Kuldeep Sen, currently selected for the Indian team, tops the wicket-taking charts with 18 scalps in six matches. While bowlers like Vasuki Koushik of Karnataka (16 wickets), Rahul Shukla of Jharkhand (16 wickets), Gujarat’s CT Raja (15 wickets) and UP’s Shivam Mavi (14 wickets) are not very far either. (ANI)
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