Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022: Ruturaj Gaikwad shines as Maharashtra, Saurashtra set up finals clash

Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad on Wednesday carried on from where he left as he powered his team to beat Assam in the semi-final of the Vijay Hazare trophy tournament. The Maharashtra team overcame a fighting display by Assam to win the match by 12 runs at Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad. They are now set to face Jaydev Unadkat's Saurashtra in the summit clash.

Gaikwad has continued his Midas touch in the ongoing tournament as he smashed yet another ton in the knockout. Gaikwad had earlier hit a double ton in the quarterfinal and now has scored 168 in the semifinal. Due to his and Ankit Bawne's knock, Maharashtra scored 350/7 in the first innings. In reply, Kunal Saikia's Assam also displayed a spiriting fight but went down in the end. Middle-order batters Sibsankar Roy and Swarupam Purkayastha hit crucial fifties and kept Assam's hopes alive before the team ended at 338/8 in 50 overs. 

The other



semifinal was a low-scoring affair in the Narendra Modi Stadium A Ground, Ahmedabad as Saurashtra chased down Karnataka's 172-run target with 5 wickets in hand. For Karnataka, Samarth R scored 88, while the other batters failed to impress. Saurashtra's captain Unadkat scalped 4 wickets in his 10-over spell. Coming out to chase, Jay Gohil and Arpit Vasavada took their team over the line. The final will be played between Maharashtra and Saurashtra on 2nd December 2022.

Maharashtra's Playing XI vs Assam: 

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rahul Tripathi, Satyajeet Bachhav, Ankit Bawne, Azim Kazi, Saurabh Navale (wk), Kaushal Tambe, Shamshuzama Kazi, Manoj Ingale, Mukesh Choudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar

Assam's Playing XI vs Maharashtra:

Kunal Saikia (c & wk), Rahul Hazarika, Rishav Das, Riyan Parag, Saahil Jain, Swarupam Purkayastha, Sibsankar Roy, Rajjakuddin Ahmed, Mukhtar Hussain, Avinov Choudhury, Mrinmoy Dutta