Sheldon Jackson's 133 not out outweighed Ruturaj Gaikwad's 108 as Saurashtra defeated Maharashtra by five wickets in Ahmedabad on Friday (December 2) to win the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time since 2008.
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Sheldon Jackson hit a magnificent 133 not out to lead Saurashtra over Maharashtra’s 248 in the final in Ahmedabad to their second Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph. Chirag Jani was the other star for Saurashtra, picking up a hat-trick en route to 3 for 43 returns and then hitting a cool 25-ball 30 to be by Jackson’s side when they crossed the finish line. But it was their captain Unadkat who set the tone with the ball in the first innings.
In brisk morning conditions, Jaydev Unadkat and Kushang Patel kept the Maharashtra openers quiet – Gaikwad and Pavan Shah couldn’t find the boundaries but also struggled with strike rotation. Pavan attempted a dangerous single after flicking Unadkat to midwicket, only to be run out. The morning’s battle was between Unadkat and Gaikwad, two seasoned players fighting inch for inch, neither conceding any. Unadkat changed ends after a four-over stint and thought he had Gaikwad caught behind, but the umpire was unmoved. He gave up just one run in his two overs after changing ends, and his numbers after his first two spells were 6-1-5-0.
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Meanwhile, Gaikwad struggled to get going as Maharashtra crept to 18 for 1 after ten overs. He was on 10 off 45 balls when he smashed his first four-ball four, a sweep over backward square-leg off Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. Gaikwad soon passed 50 and was joined by Azim Kazi as they began to play with a lot more freedom than in the first half of the innings. Gaikwad achieved three figures off 125 deliveries with two consecutive sixes off Chirag Jani in the 40th over, after scoring a maximum off Prerak Mankad earlier in the innings. Despite being hit for a boundary in his penultimate over, Unadkat concluded with economic figures of 1-25. In the 49th over, Jani struck three times, dismissing Saurabh Navale, Hangargekar, and Ostwal.
Sheldon Jackson’s 133 not out outweighed Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 108 as Saurashtra defeated Maharashtra by five wickets in Ahmedabad on Friday (December 2) to win the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time since 2008. Unlike Maharashtra, Saurashtra’s openers were much more fluid in the first 10 overs of the chase, with Jackson and Desai striking boundaries from time to time. In the 12th over, they passed the half-century mark. Unadkat’s credentials as skipper were bolstered by the victory; he guided Saurashtra to their first Ranji Trophy trophy in 2019-2020. He also finished first in the wicket-taking stats in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 19 strikes.
