Shubman Gill is not a part of the ongoing T20 series against New Zealand, hence he is playing in Ranji Trophy. Punjab captain Gill could not even open his account in the first innings against Saurashtra on Thursday. He came to the crease after 3 wickets fell at 73, but got out for a duck on his very second ball. After this his team faltered, till the time of writing the news, Punjab has lost 8 wickets for 124 runs. Saurashtra had scored 172 runs in the first innings.

If any one name made the most headlines after Saurashtra’s victory in the semi-finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy, then it is Vishwaraj Jadeja. In this important match played against Punjab, Jadeja played such an inning which single-handedly changed the course of the match. While chasing the big target of 292 runs, he scored unbeaten 165 runs and took Saurashtra to the final in spectacular style.

Vishwaraj Jadeja’s real class shown in the semi-finals

Right-handed opener Vishwaraj Jadeja put pressure on Punjab bowlers from the very beginning. With captain Harvik Desai, he made a tremendous partnership of 172 runs for the first wicket. Even after Desai’s dismissal, Jadeja’s stance did not change. Along with Prerak Mankad, he made another century partnership and made the run chase completely one-sided.

It took him 127 balls to score 165 runs. During this period, 18 fours and 3 brilliant sixes came from his bat. The special thing was that he batted very intelligently throughout the innings and avoided playing bad shots. His strike rate was above 129, which shows his aggressive thinking in big matches.

Saved on one occasion, never stopped again

During the innings, at the score of 120 runs, Vishwaraj Jadeja definitely got a lease of life when he missed the catch in the deep. However, after this he did not commit any mistake. On the contrary, he added more edge to his game. Punjab bowlers kept changing the line-length continuously, but Jadeja was seen answering every ball.

Great form throughout the tournament

This innings is not the story of just one match. In the current Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vishwaraj Jadeja has scored more than 500 runs in 9 matches. He has three centuries to his name this season and his average is close to 67. Even before this, he has proved himself to be a reliable batsman by playing important innings against Gujarat, Delhi and Services.

Now eyes on the final

With this victory, Saurashtra has reached the final of Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time after 2022-23. It will face Vidarbha in the final on January 18. Looking at the current form, it is expected that Vishvaraj Jadeja will once again emerge as the biggest strength of the team.