Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh enter Vijay Hazare Trophy final

Aparajith's century was the highlight in TN's chase. © Getty
Himachal Pradesh vs Services

Skipper Rishi Dhawan and Akash Vasisht's brilliant all-round performances booked Himachal Pradesh's maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy final berth as they overpowered Services by 77 runs in the first semifinal at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday (December 24). The pair put on an all-important 83-run partnership for the sixth wicket, making 84 and an unbeaten 45 respectively, to propel Himachal's total to a competitive 281/6 before snapping six wickets between them to derail Services' chase.

A 74-run stand for the second wicket between Prashant Chopra (78 off 109) and Digvijay Rangi helped Himachal recover from an early setback but a mini collapse followed that left them reeling at 106 for 4 in under 25 overs after being put in to bat first. That is when skipper Dhawan joined hands with Chopra to forge an 88-run stand en route a fluent 84 that came off 77 deliveries. After Chopra's departure, just as Himachal neared the 200-run mark, Vasisht joined forces with the captain and chipped in a handy cameo of 45 off just 29 deliveries - hammering four boundaries and a couple of sixes - to help their side finish on a strong note.

If the tall target wasn't enough of a pressure, Services' chase suffered from lack of momentum as well. Soon after, Dhawan sent back both Lakhan Singh and Mohit Ahlawat in the space of six overs. Skipper Rajat Paliwal (55) and unbeaten opener Ravi Chauhan were successful in consolidating a tad but consumed too many deliveries in the process to allow the asking rate to climb significantly. At 24.4 overs, when Vasisht dismissed Chauhan on 45 to bring curtains on their 49-run partnership, Services were already looking at more than eight an over. Vasisht picked up his second in quick succession but just as Services tried to accelerate, the plan backfired. From 154 for 5 at the start of the 37th over, when skipper Paliwal departed on 55, Services came crumbling down in the next 10 overs to fold for just 204 in reply.

Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 281/6in 50 overs (Rishi Dhawan 84, Prashant Chopra 78, Akash Vasisht 45*; Raj Bahadur 2-52) beatServices 204 all out in 16.1 overs (Rajat Paliwal 55, Ravi Chauhan 45; Rishi Dhawan 4-27, Akash Vasisht 2-28) by 77 runs

Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra

Baba Aparajith's 122 trumped Sheldon Jackson's 134 and Chetan Sakariya's brilliant fifer was in vain as Tamil Nadu marched into the Vijay Hazare final with a narrow two-wicket victory over Saurashtra in the semis, in Jaipur.

Jackson's 125-ball 134 formed the backbone of Saurashtra's imposing total of 310/8 from their 50 overs. The wicketkeeper-bat stitched three useful partnerships - adding 92 for the second wicket with Vishvaraj Jadeja, 81 for the third wicket with Prerak Mankad and 70 for the fourth-wicket with Arpit Vasavada - that kept Saurashtra in control of proceedings throughout their innings. While Jackson hit 11 boundaries and four sixes in his knock, Jadeja and Vasavada too went past their respective fifties.

Tamil Nadu made a brief comeback of sorts to restrict some damage in the last five overs, with Vijay Shankar snapping four of the last five wickets that fell, including that of Jackson and Vasavada, to register figures of 4 for 72 from his 10 overs.

Sakariya then got into the act and sent back N Jagadeesan and Vijay cheaply inside four overs to reduce Tamil Nadu to 23 for 2 as Saurashtra strengthened their grip on the game. However, that's when Aparajith combined with his brother Baba Indrajith to forge a 97-run stand that helped the side claw their way back into the contest. After Indirajith fell for a 58-ball 50, Aparajith added 48 runs for the fourth wicket with Dinesh Karthik and another 76 runs with Washington Sundar. He departed in the 43rd over after making a 124-ball 122, laced with a dozen boundaries and three sixes, when TN were still 67 away.

Washington's boundary filled 70 led Tamil Nadu in the later stages of their chase even as Shakariya struck thrice at regular intervals to stall their march. His fifer included the prized scalp of Washington but not before the allrounder had already done the damage. Tamil Nadu needed nine off as many deliveries and the ninth wicket pair held their nerve to pull off the winning runs off the very last ball of the chase.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 310/8 in 50 overs (Sheldon Jackson 134, Arpit Vasavada 57, Vishvaraj Jadeja 52; Vijay Shankar 4-72, R Silambarasan 3-54) lost to Tamil Nadu 314/8 in 50 overs (Baba Aparajith 122, Washington Sundar 70, Baba Indrajith 50; Chetan Sakariya 5-62) by 2 wickets