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Himachal Pradesh players were ecstatic and emotional and why not. After all, they had created history. They were the bunch of cricketers who had anchored the side to their first Vijay Hazare title. And so was captain Rishi Dhawan who had led this team from the front not just to the winning triumph but to a DREAM. A dream that many had seen. A dream that he himself had seen. A dream that is now a reality. In an EXCLUSIVE chat with OneCricket and Cricketexchange Rishi talks about how special this win is not just for him but for Himachal Pradesh cricket after putting in hard work for so many years. “It feels amazing after the historic win. We have had confidence in our team as we have been performing well for the past 4-5 years but were not getting that finishing touch. We finally got it this year, so it feels great. The mix in the team was good. All the players performed really well. Prashant, Nikhil, Amit and in the bowling unit we have Pankaj Jaiswal, Akash Vashisht who have performed really well. It’s a total team effort and the whole team has produced a brilliant show in the tournament,” he said. While Shubham Arora played an important role in the final against Tamil Nadu after scoring a century, Prashant Chopra had been among the runs consistently for the side in the tournament. Apart from these two, the middle-order and Rishi himself chipped in with important runs every now and then. Hailing the team, the right-hander said that it was the all-around show from the unit that helped clinch the title. “We got good batting wickets in the tournament. Like earlier, we played in Mumbai, so the tracks there had helped on offer for the batters. From the very starting, our focus was to play all the 50 overs and try not to give away many wickets. Our plan was to save wickets for the slog overs so that we can accelerate then. In almost 80% of the matches that we played, we scored a lot of runs in the final overs,” Dhawan noted. “Moreover, the batting order performed really well. Prashant gave us good starts then in the middle-order, we had Nikhil and Amit who chipped in with valuable contributions and then me and Akash and partnerships in 2-3 games which were really crucial and important. Overall, as I said this is a team effort. The good part was that we didn’t just have a couple of match-winners but there were different players in all the matches who made contributions.” An emotional Dhawan credited Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association for providing the players with facilities and also thanked Anurag Thakur for his hard work and efforts. “Obviously, you can’t create history in one and it’s a process that goes on. I really want to give credit to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) who provided us with a lot of facilities. The infrastructure is good, we have indoor stadiums as well. We have at least 6-7 grounds where national level games can be held. Apart from this, the preparations are good, we get to play a lot of matches. So, I really want to thank the association and especially Anurag Thakur sir for his efforts. He had worked really hard for this. It was everyone’s dream that Himachal Pradesh should win a title and it has now come true.” The 31-year-old revealed how the players couldn’t control their emotions after qualifying for the finale and how he got the side back in the groove. “The players were really emotional after we made a place in the final. We had this feeling that we have been working hard for so many years and now we have got the reward so it was really emotional for us. But after all the celebrations and all, we got back into the groove that we are left with one game and kept in mind that we have to play our game and not really think about the opponent. We want to give our 100% and keep it simple,” he said. Looking at the conditions, Tamil Nadu had made some tweaks in their batting order in the finale and sent the lower-order batters up the order. Though they were reduced to 40/4, Dinesh Karthik and Baba Indrajith steadied the ship for the side. Karthik in fact, went on to notch a ton. Talking about the same, Dhawan admitted that his side had come under some pressure while DK was at the crease but as they had played at the venue earlier, they had the idea that it would be a high-scoring clash. “Dinesh Karthik is of course a big player and the way he was playing, the players were under some pressure despite getting a good start. But we had played a couple of games at the venue, so we had the idea that the wicket would gradually assist the batsmen. The outfield is fast. So somewhere down the line, we had this in mind that a high score will be put on the board eventually. In fact, we chose to field after winning the toss to take advantage of the conditions in the first hour. But we knew after 10-15 overs, the pitch will assist the batters,” he said. “We were expecting a change in the lineup because we knew they would also try to shield their important batters in the initial phase. But we had a plan of picking up as many wickets as we can,” he added. Himachal Pradesh had won the final by 11 runs (VJD Method). When asked if that was in his mind, Dhawan said in the affirmative that he was keeping the scoring rate in check. He further talked about the interaction that he had with Arora in the middle. “Being a senior player, I had to take up the onus and moreover, Shubham was a bit tired as well. He had kept wickets earlier and then he batted throughout, so he was tired. He in fact, called the physio also a couple of times during the drinks break to get the stretching done. He told me that he wasn’t really able to run so I just told him that don’t give away your wicket because a wicket at that point of time would have put us under pressure.” “I told him that I will take up the responsibility of scoring the runs and asked him to rotate the strike. Also, the VJD thing was going on in the back of our minds and a wicket there would have pushed us on the back foot,” he revealed. The Vijay Hazare Trophy will now be followed by the Ranji Trophy and the Himachal Pradesh side will be back to work. “We will be resting for 2-3 days and then we will start with the preparations for the Ranji Trophy. We are starting the tournament in Mumbai from January 13, 2022.” When asked about how much importance does IPL keep in being a platform for youngsters for showcasing the talent, Dhawan replied that it does keep a lot of importance. “You see, social media is so powerful that you get noticed if you perform well. This is a BCCI tournament so everyone knows how big this opportunity is for everyone. So, this thing is in everyone’s back of the mind and it only depends upon you how you take it. If you just enjoy the process, it enhances the performance,” he concluded.
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 | Passionate Himachal Pradesh outrun Tamil Nadu to win maiden title
There was some drama in the middle in the final minutes of play during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 final between Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh when bad lights eventually stopped play. Chasing a mammoth 315 in 50 overs, Himachal Pradesh were 299/4 in 47.3 overs when the play had to be stopped but the Rishi Dhawan-led side was well ahead of the requirement and they were crowned the CHAMPIONS eventually after winning the finale by 11 runs (VJD Method). Rishi Dhawan was emotional. The Himachal Pradesh players were delighted. Their joy knew no bounds. The hard work had paid off. After all, they had won their first Vijay Hazare Trophy and against a side which is certainly looked up as the giant in domestic circuit. Dhawan expressed delight at lifting the trophy after the game. “It was long pending and we've finally done it. Really happy,” he said. Shubham Arora’s resistance It’s not really for a batter to negotiate a formidable bowling line up when the side is chasing a target of over 300 runs and the wickets had fallen around him but Himachal Pradesh’s Shubham Arora was strong-headed enough to help his team overcome a tricky situation. Himachal had started off well as the openers Arora and Prashant Chopra had put up 60 runs on the board but the latter’s departure certainly broke the shackles and the team began to lose wickets at regular intervals and was 96/3 when Amit Kumar came out to bat. The complexion of the game certainly changed from here on. It seemed as if Arora and Amit had a plan in their minds and the two batters were executing that pretty well. They began the rebuilding process in a cautious manner but never let the asking rate mount and eventually stitched a stand of 148 runs for the fourth wicket. Kumar was eventually undone for 74 off 79 after he was trapped in front of the stumps by Baba Aparajith but his departure didn’t really impact Shubham as he remained unbeaten at a well-compiled 136 off 131 to anchor his side to the victorious triumph. Rishi Dhawan’s aggressive stroke-play Himachal Pradesh captain Rishi Dhawan had been in good form in the tournament but what unleashed on Sunday was a master class from an experienced lad. Dhawan took on the Tamil Nadu spinners and especially Murugan Ashwin and hammered runs all around the park. He struck an unbeaten 42 off 23 deliveries including five fours and a maximum. He in fact discussed his knock after the game. “I was telling Shubham not to take any pressure, just get a single and I'll handle the pressure,” he said during the post-match presentation. Dinesh Karthik & his valuable experience As we talk about Shubham Arora for his performance in this final, the credits can’t really be taken away from Tamil Nadu’s Dinesh Karthik who helped his side come out of critical situation and put up a huge total on the scoresheet. In a process of shielding the regular batsmen early in the day, Tamil Nadu certainly experimented with their batting line up where they promoted lower middle order batters like Murugan Ashwin and Sai Kishore up the order. The track and the conditions in Jaipur early in the morning were favouring the bowlers and this was pretty evident when Himachal Pradesh reduced Tamil Nadu to 40/4 before Karthik and Baba Indrajith joined hands and put up a partnership of 202 runs for the fifth wicket. While Indrajith scored 80 off 71, Karthik piled up a ton. The right-hander too took his time to get his eye in first and then accelerated to eventually score 116 in 103 deliveries which involved 7 sixes and eight fours during the course. Later, Shahrukh Khan who is known to score runs at a brisk pace capitalised on the foundation laid by Karthik and Indrajith as he chipped in with 42 off 21 as Tamil Nadu struck 314 in 49.4 overs before getting bowled out. Pankaj Jaiswal eventually picked up four wickets while Rishi Dhawan scalped a three-for. Buttery hands The only thing that two sides will look back and will like to work on is the fielding efforts. Barring the early minutes of the day, the fielding from both the teams was dismal. In fact, Himachal Pradesh dropped Dinesh Karthik twice before he had scored his ton while Tamil Nadu missed out on run out chances and sitters. Later, Karthik showed some sportsman spirit and specially went to congratulate the Himachal Pradesh players.
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 | Semi-final: Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh set to lock horns in final
Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh will lock horns in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021. While Tamil Nadu defeated Saurashtra in the semi-final, Himachal Pradesh thumped Services to march ahead. Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra In a high-scoring clash in Jaipur, Tamil Nadu chased down a target of 311 runs in the final over by 2 wickets on Friday. The Vijay Shankar-led side lost a couple of early wickets but Baba Aparajith and Baba Inderjith first came in for the rescue and stitched a stand of 97 runs for the third wicket. Indrajith was eventually dismissed for 50 off 58. Aparajith who eventually went on to notch up 122 in 124 deliveries, was then joined by Dinesh Karthik in the middle. Karthik too chipped in with a brisk 26-ball 31 but it was Washington Sundar and Aparajith’s fifth wicket partnership of 76 runs that got the side back on track before Aparajith was sent back by Chudasama. But Sundar continued with his form and scored a fifty but was dismissed in the penultimate over for 70. Tamil Nadu lost another wicket at the end of the 49th over bringing the equation down to 7 needed off the final over with two wickets in hand. Sai Kishore kept his cool in the final over and he along with Silambarasan guided the team over the line by 2 wickets. Sakariya returned with a fifer for his side. Earlier, in the day, Saurashtra rode on Sheldon Jackson’s ton and half-centuries from Vishvaraj Jadeja and Arpit Vasavada to put 310/8 in 50 overs on the board. Silambarasan picked up three wickets for 54 runs in 10 overs while Vijay Shankar had four scalps to his name but at the cost of 72 runs in 10 overs. Himachal Pradesh vs Services Himachal Pradesh dominated the Services’ batting unit thoroughly and didn’t let them take an upper hand during the course of the innings. The Services side lost wickets at regular intervals to get reduced to 174/6 before getting bundled out for 204 while chasing 282. Captain Rajat Paliwal scored a fifty for his side. Himachal Pradesh skipper Rishi Dhawan had a brilliant day at the office as he picked up four wickets for 27 runs in 8.1 overs. Earlier, Himachal Pradesh’s batsmen and especially Chopra, Dhakan and Vashisht struck valuable runs to help the side put 281/6 in 50 overs. Dhawan led from the front and scored 84 off 77 while Chopra notched up 78 off 109. Vashisht too made a valuable contribution with an unbeaten 29-ball 45. Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh will play the title clash in Jaipur on Sunday.