Jadeja’s unbeaten 165 guides Saurashtra past Punjab into Vijay Hazare Trophy final

Vishvaraj Jadeja’s unbeaten 165 powered Saurashtra to a nine-wicket win over Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final. Supported by Harvik Desai and Prerak Mankad, Saurashtra chased 291 with ease to set up a final against Vidarbha

Bengaluru: Vishvaraj Jadeja’s unbeaten 165 helped Saurashtra outclass Punjab by nine wickets and seal a berth in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final here on Friday.

Saurashtra will face Vidarbha in the title clash on Sunday.

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After Saurashtra bowlers did an excellent job in limiting Punjab to 291, Jadeja put the opposition attack under pressure in his 127-ball innings (18×4, 3×6).

The right-hander received strong support from opening partner Harvik Desai (64), with whom he added 172 runs in just 23 overs, and Prerak Mankad (52 not out) as Saurashtra chased down the target in 39.3 overs. Jadeja and Mankad shared an unbroken 121-run stand for the second wicket.

Saurashtra began the chase on a fortunate note, receiving five penalty runs as Punjab batters ran on the restricted areas during their innings. They capitalised on that advantage with a commanding batting effort.

Jadeja and Desai took 23 runs off pacer Krish Bhagat in the seventh over and maintained momentum. Jadeja, dropped at the team score of 120, reached his fifty in 29 balls and then took another 45 balls to complete his third List A hundred.

Desai fell cutting pacer Gurnoor Brar to Naman Dhir at point, but Jadeja went past his maiden 150 in List A matches before sealing victory with a boundary off Dhir.

Earlier, Punjab squandered a strong start. Harnoor Singh and skipper Prabhsimran Singh added 60 runs for the opening wicket before Harnoor was run out. Prabhsimran and Anmolpreet then added 109 runs for the second wicket.

Prabhsimran dominated with big shots on the leg-side but fell to Chirag Jani. Anmolpreet carried on steadily, reaching his hundred in 103 balls with successive fours off Jani. His knock helped Punjab recover from losing Naman Dhir and Nehal Wadhera in quick succession to reach 275 for four in the 47th over.

But Anmolpreet’s dismissal by Chetan Sakariya triggered a collapse. From 275 for 5, Punjab lost their last five wickets for just 16 runs as Sakariya bowled a fine death spell. That proved decisive as Saurashtra chased down the target comfortably under lights.