This year, the Vijay Hazare Trophy is set to be special. The final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 is scheduled for Saturday, January 18, where Mayank Agarwal’s Karnataka will face off against Karun Nair’s Vidarbha, who have reached the final for the first time, at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. Both veterans will be eyeing the title to make it a memorable contest for their teams. Both teams have been in great form and are eager to win the title.
Pitch report
The Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara has been challenging for batters, with spinners often dominating in the middle overs. However, the recent semi-final between Vidarbha and Maharashtra saw both teams score over 300 runs, indicating that another high-scoring game could be on the cards.
Karnataka Team analysis and road to finals
Defeated defending champions and topped Group C
Karnataka have shown a dominating performance in the VHT to reach the finals, they defeated Haryana in the first semi-final, winning by five wickets. Throughout the tournament, Karnataka topped Group C by winning six of their seven league-stage games. They then overcame Baroda in the quarterfinal. Impressively, Karnataka has won each of their last four Vijay Hazare Trophy finals.
Top performers for Karnataka
Mayank Agarwal has been a star for Karnataka, amassing 619 runs with an average of 103.16, including four centuries. Devdutt Padikkal also impressed with scores of 102 and 86 in the quarters and semis, respectively. Shreyas Gopal leads the bowling attack with 18 wickets, followed closely by Vasuki Koushik with 15.
Vidarbha’s Team analysis and road to finals
First VHT finals
Vidarbha reached their first-ever Vijay Hazare Trophy final by defeating Maharashtra by 69 runs in the second semi-final. The victory was powered by centuries from Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod, along with captain Karun Nair’s performance. Vidarbha topped Group D, winning all six of their games before beating Rajasthan in the quarter-final.
Vidharbha’s top performers
Karun Nair is in outstanding form for Vidarbha, scoring five centuries in seven innings with a total of 752 runs. Openers Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod have each contributed 384 runs to the team’s success. Nachiket Bhute is Vidarbha’s top wicket-taker with 15 wickets, followed by Harsh Dubey with 14.
Probable Playing XIs
Vidarbha: Dhruv Shorey, Yash Rathod, Karun Nair (c), Apoorv Wankhade, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shubham Dubey, Harsh Dubey, Nachiket Bhute, Parth Rekhade, Yash Thakur, Darshan Nalkande.
Karnataka: Mayank Agarwal (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Aneesh KV, Smaran Ravichandran, Krishnan Shrijith (wk), Abhinav Manohar, Hardik Raj, Shreyas Gopal, Prasidh Krishna, Vasuki Koushik, Abhilash Shetty.
Where to watch the Vijay Hazare Trophy finals?
Fans eager to catch the action live can watch it on the JioCinema app and website or tune into the Sports18 network at 1:30 PM IST.
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