Jaipur, Dec 26: The hill state of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday reached its zenith in cricket, with a stunning 11-run victory over mighty Tamil Nadu in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here.
Youngster Shubham Arora came out all guns blazing with his maiden List A century as Himachal downed five-time champions Tamil Nadu under the VJD method to win their first ever domestic one-day championship.
Chasing a stiff 315, Himachal Pradesh, who were playing their maiden Vijay Hazare final, responded in style with the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter making a fine 136 not out.
With Himachal 299/4 in 47.3 overs, and needing 16 off 15 balls, bad light suspended play at 5pm, before Himachal were declared winners under the VJD Method.
Tamil Nadu have been the best domestic side in the country in white-ball cricket since the 2019-20 season. After losing the finals of the one-day and T20 competitions in 2019, the team has won back-to-back titles in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20s (2020-21 and 2021-22), but underdogs Himachal outplayed the favourites on this occasion.
On a day when veteran wicketkeeper-batter and former captain Dinesh Karthik smashed an entertaining 103-ball 116, the young Himachal glovesman outshone the seasoned pro with his well-calculated, unbeaten century under pressure.
After opting to field on a flat Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Rishi Dhawan took another fine call in sending Amit Kumar ahead of him, as the skipper chose to play the role of a finisher.
The move paid dividends as the the left-right combination of Arora and Amit (74) added 148 for the fourth wicket in a match-winning partnership. After Baba Aparajith gave TN the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Amit, Himachal needed 71 from 54 deliveries, but Rishi played his role to perfection, hammering the rival bowling attack.
Tamil Nadu were lacklustre on the field. Skipper Vijay Shankar made a blunder as he fumbled when he was presented a crucial run-out opportunity when Arora was on 113. (PTI)
