Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 Semifinal: The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 has reached its climax, with Haryana, Karnataka, Vidarbha, and Maharashtra securing their spots in the semi-finals. Vidarbha earned their semi-final spot by defeating Rajasthan by 9 wickets, while Haryana edged out Gujarat by 2 wickets.
The first semi-final match is scheduled to take place on January 15 between Haryana and Karnataka. The second semi-final will be held on January 16 between Vidarbha and Maharashtra, with both matches taking place in Vadodara. The winning teams will advance to the finals, which will be held on January 18 at the same venue.
Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final schedule:
- Haryana vs Karnataka – January 15
- Vidarbha vs Maharashtra – January 16
- Final match – January 18
Captains of the teams that reached the semi-finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy:
| Team | Captain |
| Haryana | Ankit Kumar |
| Vidarbha | Karun Nair |
| Maharashtra | Ruturaj Gaikwad |
| Karnataka | Mayank Agarwal |
Haryana’s narrow victory
Haryana faced a challenging task in achieving the target of 197 runs to win against Gujarat. Hemang Patel made a significant contribution of 54 runs for Gujarat, hitting two fours and five sixes in his 62-ball innings. While chasing the target, Himanshu Rana put the team in a strong position with an inning of 66 runs in 89 balls. However, the team struggled, losing four wickets for 20 runs between the 35th and 43rd overs. Kamboj (seven not out) eventually secured the team’s victory by hitting a six in the 44th over. Haryana’s win was largely due to the brilliant bowling of Ravi Bishnoi (four wickets for 46 runs).
Gujarat captain Axar Patel’s disappointing performance
Earlier, Anuj Thukral (three wickets for 39 runs), Nishant Sindhu (three wickets for 40 runs), and Anshul Kamboj (two wickets for 36 runs) restricted the Gujarat batsmen by taking wickets at regular intervals. No Gujarat batsman could perform well, with only Hemang Patel scoring a half-century. Axar Patel, who recently secured his spot in the Indian team for the upcoming T20 series against England, failed to make a significant contribution for Gujarat in this match. The Gujarat captain scored only three runs and failed to achieve even a single success after spending 41 runs in his 10 overs.
(Input: PTI)