CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu take on Saurashtra in the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Jaipur on Friday. Both teams registered comprehensive wins in their quarterfinal games to make the last-four stage of the competition. While Tamil Nadu cruised past Karnataka by 151 runs, Saurashtra registered a seven-wicket win over Vidarbha.
The Vijay Shankar-led side head into the clash with a lot of confidence thanks to the form their batsmen and bowlers have shown during the course of the tournament. When it comes to Tamil Nadu’s batting --- opener N Jagadeesan (244 runs from 6 innings) and the seasoned Dinesh Karthik (229 in 5 outings) have been the go-to men.
Baba Indrajith (195 runs in the tournament) and the in-form M Shahrukh Khan (194) too have contributed during crunch situations. Washington Sundar --- 15 scalps in 6 games at an average of 13.93 --- tops the side’s wicket-taker list. Left-arm spinner M Siddharth and medium-pacer R Silambarasan --- with 12 wickets each --- have played their part as well.
On paper, Tamil Nadu may appear the stronger side but coach M Venkataramana is clear that Saurashtra will not be taken lightly. “There is no room for complacency against any opposition. Saurashtra is a good side that has played quality cricket to reach this stage. We will have to be on top of our game against them,” Venkataramana told TOI on the eve of the contest.
On the other hand, Saurashtra will be banking on the in-form Prerak Mankad --- 339 runs in 6 games --- to deliver with the bat. In the quarterfinal against Vidarbha, Prerak’s unbeaten 77 helped the side overcome an ordinary start to eventually reign supreme. Saurashtra also have Sheldon Jackson --- one of the most experienced players --- in their line-up.
Saurashtra also has variety in their bowling. Skipper Jaydev Unadkat, young left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya, the slow-ball bowler duo of Yuvraj Chudasma and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja could be a test for the Tamil Nadu batsmen. “They have some strong bowlers in their line-up and it will be a good test for our batsmen,” pointed out Venkataramana.
In the other semifinal, Himachal Pradesh will be locking horns against Services.
