AGENCIES
NEW DELHI
Not many had expected Gujarat to topple Tamil Nadu, the tournament favourites in the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015-16. The Parthiv Patel-led side surprised many with their win over a side that had five players who had played Test cricket. In the finals held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Gujarat pummelled Delhi by 139 runs to runs to prove why their win against Tamil Nadu was not an aberration, but instead how solid their one-day unit is.
The maiden one-day title was achieved courtesy major contributions from two domestic veterans – captain Parthiv Patel and RP Singh. While Parthiv hit 105 to guide Gujarat to a commanding 273/10, RP turned back the clock in an exceptional display of fast bowling to shoot Delhi out for just 134 runs in 32.3 overs.
The menacing swing that he was known for was back on display as RP rocked the Delhi line-up in a devastating opening spell under lights. He castled young Rishabh Pant on the first ball and almost had his second wicket when he struck Unmukt Chand on the back pad. He followed it up with a maiden over and had Shikhar Dhawan (5) caught at cover on the second ball of his third over to reduce Delhi to 11-2.
Captain Gautam Gambhir replaced Dhawan and a top battle ensued. While Gambhir seemed to have an upper hand with two boundaries in the fourth over, RP sent the Delhi captain back when the left-hander got a leading edge that was nicely taken in the first slip by Rujul Bhatt. RP then had had Milind Kumar trapped in front as Delhi slipped to 31-4.
Having escaped a close shout earlier, Unmukt survived the onslaught but a sharp inswinger from Jasprit Bumrah knocked his middle stump over. Jasprit joined the party and removed the lower order to pick up his five-wicket haul as Delhi were left to ponder whether the decision to bat second backfired. Amidst the ruin, Pawan Negi brought up a half-century with his counter attacking knock.
Earlier, Parthiv chose the right occasion to register his first List A century. Parthiv, who was dismissed for zero in the semi-finals made amends soon after losing the toss. He was in an attacking mode from the start which put pressure on the opposition. Though Gujarat lost two wickets by the 10th over of Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai, Parthiv continued to remain positive.
He was provided ideal support from No.4 Rujul Bhatt as the two left-handers rotated the strike well against the spinners and also hit boundaries at regular intervals. The two put on 100 runs for the third wicket in only 98 balls. While Bhatt got his 9th List A fifty and fourth in the tournament, Parthiv got his maiden century in 111 balls.
The much needed breakthrough finally arrived for Delhi in the 37th over when Gambhir recalled Nitish Rana for his second spell. Rana, who changed the angle, was rewarded immediately as Bhatt was caught behind by Pant while looking to cut. With Delhi finally managing to end the 149-run association for the third wicket, Parthiv too followed his partner in the next over when he failed to read a slightly quicker delivery by Negi that crashed into his stumps. The fall of wickets continued as Delhi made a late, but important recovery to restrict Gujarat well under the 300-run mark.
