After registering easy wins in their respective last-eight outings, Saurashtra run into an equally dominant Tamil Nadu, while Himachal Pradesh face Services in the sem-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22. Both the matches will be televised live and fans can also stream online. (More Cricket News)
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 matches are being telecast live on the Star Sports Network. Live streaming is available on Disney+ Hotstar. Both the semi-finals will be played on Friday (December 24) in Jaipur, at two different venues.
Match Details
Semi-final 1: Himachal Pradesh vs Services at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Match starts at 9:00 AM IST.
Semi-final 2: Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra at KL Saini Ground. Match starts at 9:00 AM IST.
Previews
First Semi-final: Himachal Pradesh vs Services
While Services decimated Kerala at KL Saini Ground to make it to the last four of the national ODI championship for the first time ever, the Rishi Dhawan-led Himachal notched up a five-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh at Sawai Mansingh.
Himachal's morale would have received a big boost after their convincing win over Uttar Pradesh. For them, a lot would depend on how the last match’s hero and opener Prashant Chopra fares.
Another important cog in their wheel is Nikhil Gangta. But their middle-order, comprising the likes of Rishi Dhawan, Amit Kumar, Sumeet Verma and Akash Vasisth, needs to pull its weight for the team to make a match of it.
Pacer Vinay Galetiya, who wreaked havoc against UP, would be raring to go once again, but needs support from the likes of Dhawan, medium-pacers Siddharth Sharma, Pankaj Jaiswal and left-arm orthodox spinner Mayank Dagar.
Himachal Pradesh Squad: Rishi Dhawan (c), Amit Kumar, Amit Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Prashant Chopra, Mayank Dagar, Vinay Galetiya, Nikhil Gangta, Arpit Guleria, Shubham Arora, Akash Vasisht, Pankaj Jaiswal, Sumeet Verma, Gurvinder Singh, Priyanshu Khanduri , Ayush Jamwal, Sidharth Sharma.
For services, the experienced duo of opener Ravi Chauhan and skipper Rajat Paliwal holds the key. If Services have to set a target or chase a big score, then the two will have to make a significant contribution.
On the bowling front, medium-pacer Diwesh Pathania would need to play a vital role along with Pal Raj Bahadur, G Rahul Singh and 27-year old off-spinner Pulkit Narang. Come Friday, Services could very well spring a surprise.
Services Squad: Varun Choudhary, Gaurav Kochar, Lakhan Singh, Devender Lohchab, Shakti Malviya, Mohit Ahlawat, Pulkit Narang, Rajat Paliwal (c), Diwesh Pathania, Mumtaz Qadir, Rahul Singh, Pal Raj Bahadur, Ravi Chauhan, Shivam Tiwari, Trivendra Kumar, Vikas Umesh Yadav, Jayjeet Jaiswal, Lovekesh Kumar, Ashish Nuniwal, Gahlaut Rahul Singh, Abhishek Tiwari.
Second Semi-final: Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra
In the quarter-finals, Tamil Nadu hammered Karnataka by 151 runs at KL Saini Ground, while Saurashtra humbled Vidarbha by seven wickets at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
For Saurashtra, their biggest asset is the form of the middle-order comprising the experienced Sheldon Jackson, Prerak Mankad and Arpit Vasavada. The trio can take any good attack apart on their day, including Tamil Nadu's strong and varied one.
Their formidable bowling attack, led by skipper Jaydev Unadkat, comprises young India seamer Chetan Sakriya and the duo can wreak havoc at the start and also at the death. However, Saurashtra openers Vishwaraj Jadeja and young Harvik Desai, would need to get runs under their belt and would be eyeing for a big knock in the crunch game.
Saurashtra: Jaydev Unadkat (c), Parth Bhut , Yuvraj Chudasama, Sheldon Jackson, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Devang Karamta , Prerak Mankad, Kishan Parmar, Snell Patel, Arpit Vasavada, Himalaya Barad, Parth Chauhan , Harvik Desai, Vishvaraj Jadeja, Chirag Jani, Kamlesh Makvana, Pranav Nandha , Kushang Patel, Chetan Sakariya, Samarth Vyas.
For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy champions Tamil Nadu, the role of opener N Jagadeesan, who hit a superb hundred in the quarters, would be key and the start he provides with B Aparajith will have a say in the team's fortunes. Even the other batters including R Sai Kishore, who was promoted up the order, skipper Dinesh Karthik, the reliable Aparajith and Baba Indrajith can tear into Saurashtra's bowling and given the form they have been in, a big score looks imminent.
Tamil Nadu has two other players, who can change the match's complexion in a jiffy -- the burly M Shahrukh Khan, who has been making headlines, and all-rounder Vijay Shankar. On the bowling front, TN's troika of spinners -- Sai Kishore, M Siddharth and Washington Sundar, on a comeback trail, can be more than a handful for the Saurashtra batters.
Tamil Nadu Squad: Vijay Shankar, N Jagadeesan (c), Murugan Ashwin, Kaushik Gandhi, Ganga Sridhar Raju, Hari Nishanth, Baba Indrajith, Dinesh Karthik, Jagatheesan Kousik, M Mohammed, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Sai Sudharsan, Sandeep Warrier, Sanjay Yadav, P Saravana Kumar, Shahrukh Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, R Silambarasan, Laxmesha Suryaprakash, Washington Sundar, Baba Aparajith.
(With PTI inputs)
