With an eye on a second crown after three seasons, a power-packed Delhi face off against Gujarat in the day-night summit clash of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, here on Monday.
The Gautam Gambhir-led team last took home the title after defeating Assam at Visakhapatnam in the 2012-13 season. And following a formidable show in the knockouts, Delhi are clear-cut favourites to seal the trophy.
So far in their campaign, Gambhir’s men have banked on experienced pacer Ishant Sharma, youngsters Navdeep Saini and Suboth Bhati. With 38 wickets between them, the trio will look to cap their rampant run in the final.
Meanwhile, Axar Patel, who single-handedly turned it around for Gujarat in the semis against Tamil Nadu, has been in prolific form as a handy all-rounder. The left-arm spinner tops the charts with 19 scalps besides having garnered 214 runs. The Anand-born Axar will play a key role under the lights.
Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel is confident taking on the strong Delhi. “They (Delhi) are a good side. But look at Tamil Nadu they had five Test players and a lot of India A players. We usually don’t worry about what we are getting from the other side. We are focusing on our cricket and hope to go one step ahead,” said the former India stumper.
Despite no big names in the line-up, Parthiv is happy with a collective performance in their race to the final. “Everyone has contributed. We have defined roles for each player, everyone has stuck to it and clicked at the right times,” he added.
Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand, who made a match-winning, unbeaten 80, will not take the opponents lightly.
“We can’t take any opposition lightly. We have got enough instances for the fact that we can’t take any opposition lightly and of course it being a final, we have to raise the bar in all the three departments and make sure that we put in a 100 per cent so that we win the finals,” said the 22-year-old.
Having played the last two knockout games at the same venue, Delhi will have an advantage of knowing the conditions better with Gujarat having played just once at the venue, during the league phase.
“We have played a lot of games in Alur. We have played just one game here. The ball has seamed and swung. It’s a tricky wicket,” said Parthiv.
The encounter will be the last competitive game before Team India players head to Australia for the five ODIs and three T20s. Shikhar Dhawan has managed only 91 runs in three matches and a good outing will certainly boost his confidence ahead of the tour.
