A fascinating battle of equals is on the cards as Saurashtra and Vidarbha vie for their third and maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title, respectively, at the BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds here on Sunday.
Unlike in the past, both Saurashtra and Vidarbha do not have any superstars in their line-up, but their batsmen and bowlers have so far performed like a well-oiled machine in this edition of the tournament, helping them humble some more fancied teams en route to the final.
Saurashtra have been served well by the likes of skipper Harvik Desai, their top run-getter with 561 runs, and Vishvaraj Jadeja, who fas0hioned their semifinal win over Punjab with a blistering hundred.
On the other hand, Vidarbha's batting has been propped up by Aman Mokhade, the tournament's highest run accumulator with 781 runs, and Dhruv Shorey (515 runs). Mokhade, an opener in the classic mould, has been quite impressive so far, and his century in the semifinal against Karnataka here was masterclass in innings building.
Ravikumar Samarth too has underlined his value with some useful contributions in the middle-order, aggregating 427 runs. Nothing really separates these two teams in terms of batting, and bowling too offers a similar story. Pacers Ankur Panwar (21) and Chetan Sakariya (15) have kept Saurashtra's new ball attack tight, and they have been effective at the death as well.
Vidarbha have relied on Nachiket Bhut (15) and Yash Thakur (15) in this tournament, and they will hope for an encore from the young pace duo in the final. Darshan Nalkande (12) too gives Vidarbha a reliable pace option in the middle and death overs. The way he dismantled Karnataka in the semifinals here was a testimony of skills and temperament.
However, toss will be a crucial factor in the final because of the dew that sets in towards the second innings, and whoever wins the toss will be eager to bowl first.
The chasing team has won four out of six knockout matches played across CoE 1 and 2 grounds here, and the trend looks set to continue, also reducing the role of spinners, particularly in the second innings. However, Vidarbha's young skipper and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey's ability to keep the batters' under check might come in handy.
But beyond such calculations, both Vidarbha, the runners-up last year to Karnataka, and Saurashtra will have to calm their nerves to climb over the final hurdle.
Also read: All eyes on Rohit, Virat at Vijay Hazare Trophy
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