Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023: Tamil Nadu faces high-flying Haryana in semifinal

Tamil Nadu, eyeing a record-extending sixth Vijay Hazare Trophy title, will likely be cautious of a high-flying Haryana, on an eight-match successful streak, when the 2 groups lock horns within the semifinal on the Saurashtra Cricket Affiliation Stadium right here on Wednesday.

Haryana, having by no means made it to the summit conflict of a white-ball event on the senior degree, will likely be all of the extra decided to usher in a brand new daybreak, whereas Tamil Nadu will hope to revive its legacy. 

Nevertheless, will probably be attention-grabbing to see how Haryana contends with the absence of its prime wicket-taker within the event Yuzvendra Chahal, who has flown to South Africa and was key in his crew’s quarterfinal win over Bengal on Monday. Tamil Nadu, regardless of lacking Sai Sudharsan, delivered its most complete batting efficiency within the competitors with a seven-wicket win towards Mumbai within the last-eight stage. 

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Whereas Baba Indrajith discovered his mojo with an unbeaten hundred, N. Jagadeesan, Baba Aparajith, and Vijay Shankar, who have been woefully out of shape, have been additionally among the many runs within the quarterfinal, which meant that Tamil Nadu’s most constant batter and captain Dinesh Karthik didn’t must pad up. 

However his counterpart Ashok Menaria, who has had a quiet first season for Haryana after transferring on from Rajasthan, could have no such luxurious. Tasked with anchoring an inexperienced middle-order, Menaria rose to the event with a 126-run partnership with centurion Ankit Kumar to steer Haryana’s run-chase towards Bengal. 

The 33-year-old, although, will likely be relieved to have Rahul Tewatia watching his again decrease down the order. Haryana’s man for all seasons, Tewatia, with 4 fifties in 5 innings, has bailed the crew out on quite a few events together with his whirlwind cameos, whereas additionally choosing 11 wickets. 

He’ll want younger all-rounder Nishant Sindhu to step up together with his left-arm spin within the absence of Chahal. Tamil Nadu’s spin arsenal, in the meantime, is well-stocked with R. Sai Kishore and Varun Chakaravarthy discovering ready help from M. Siddharth and Aparajith. 

With Wednesday’s match being held beneath lights, with a scheduled begin of 1.30 pm, how the spinners address dew within the second innings will likely be key. Although groups could desire chasing, bowling first within the afternoon warmth, with little motion within the air and off the pitch, may very well be sapping and irritating. 

Having performed right here a few days in the past, Haryana’s information of the circumstances may very well be outdated by Tamil Nadu’s potential batting firepower at a traditionally high-scoring venue.