Parthiv Patel produced his first
century in Style to give Gujarat their maiden title. A collapse after Parthiv
wicket had left the issue open in giving Delhi a manageable target of 274, but
Veteran RP Singh, playing his first match in the knockout stages, settled the
matter with an opening burst of 4 for 23, which includes a first ball wicket of
Rishabh Pant and later those of Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir.
Parthiv and Bhatt added 149 runs
for the third wicket, the highest for the third wicket in his tournament.
Parthiv hit 10 fours, mainly through cuts and flicks off the hips. Bhatt hit
four fours and a six in his 60 off 74 balls, which took his tournament tally to
338, which is the highest for Gujarat and ninth highest overall. They were
helped along by two sets of four overthrows, various fumbles and a few clumsy
dives.
Delhi came back into the chase with
some hope, but RP squashed it immediately. With a generous sprinkling of grey
in this beard, RP might look older than his 30, but the ball is still coming
out all right from his hand. The only blip on Gujarat night arrived when Bhatt
dropped Unmukt Chand off the bowling of Kalaria, but he made up for it soon
enough when he accepted a low offering from Gambhir at first slip.
As wickets continued to fall, the
only man capable of a miraculous comeback was Chand. He played attractive shots
in his 33 off 48, but once he placed Jasprit Bumrah on the contest was officially
over. Negi half century managed to push the score past 100. This was Gujarat
Maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title. Parthiv and RP Singh were awarded Player of
the match awards.
