Dinesh Karthik’s gritty 112 from 120 balls inspired Tamil Nadu to their fifth Vijay Hazare trophy triumph as they beat Bengal by 37 runs in the final on Monday at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla.
Batting first, Tamil Nadu were left in tatters after Ashok Dinda (3/36) ran through the top order with only 49 on the board. Karthik thought launched a fine counter-attack, building a crucial 85-run stand for the fifth wicket with Baba Indrajith (32). Karthik then went on to rally with the lower order and was the last man to be dismissed with his folding out of for 217.
Mohammad Shami (4/26), who was drafted into the side for the final, put in an outstanding display after returning from injury.
Bengal’s batsmen though, failed to fire. As wickets tumbled at the top of the order, the required run-rate kept shooting up in the middle-overs. Sudip Chatterjee (53) was the standout batsman but could not find the boundaries that his team needed. With the pressure building, Tamil Nadu capitalised, bowling the opposition out for 180.
Brief scores
- Tamil Nadu 217 in 47.2 overs (Dinesh Karthik 112, Baba Indrajith 32; Mohammed Shami 4/26, Ashok Dinda 3/36) beat Bengal 180 in 45.5 overs (Sudip Chatterjee 58, Manoj Tiwary 32; Aswin Crist 2/23, M Mohammed 2/30) by 37 runs.