Karun Nair’s strong run in the tournament has been such that Karnataka’s primary strategy will be to keep the big-scoring Vidarbha captain quiet in their quest to bag a record-equalling fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy title here on Saturday. Nair has notched up scores of 112, 44, 163, 111, 112, 122 and 88, all but one unbeaten knocks, in his last seven batting innings and his tally now stands at 752 runs at a stunning average of 752. It is the most by a captain in the history of Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), surpassing Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s tally of 660 runs made during the 2022-23 season.
Nair also has a chance to overhaul Narayan Jagadeesan’s record for the most runs scored in a single season of the VHT — 830 runs during the 2022-23 edition.
Another heavy score could also further brighten Nair’s chances of finding a place in India’s one-day side, at least for the home ODIs against England.
However, Karnataka will be eager not to concede that 79 runs (that would surpass Jagadeesan) to Nair as they know that the 33-year-old can hurt them badly if he is allowed to make a start.
Nair also received splendid support from his top-order colleagues Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod, with 384 runs apiece, and Karnataka would want to dismiss the troika at the earliest to have a crack at Vidarbha’s untested middle and lower middle-order batters.
Karnataka have the ammunition to do that in the metronomical pacer Vasuki Koushik (15 wickets) and impressive left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty (14 wickets).
In Shreyas Gopal (18 wickets), they have a clever leg-spinner who can keep the batters in check with subtle variations.
India pacer Prasidh Krishna adds more muscle to their attack.
But the real strength of Karnataka lies in their batting unit, in which almost every batter is in form.
Skipper Mayank Agarwal has led their batting, making 619 runs with four hundreds and at an average of 103.16, but others too have contributed handsomely.
The 21-year-old Ravichandran Smaran (340), KV Aneesh (417), and wicketkeeper batter KL Shrijith (225) have chipped in consistently.
The return of Devdutt Padikkal (188 runs) from India duties has further bolstered the Karnataka batting as the India left-hander has made 102 and 86 in the two matches he played against Baroda (quarterfinal) and Haryana (semifinal).
Nair was confident that his team has the wherewithal to stop Karnataka.
“We don’t have to do anything different. We need to make sure we are switched on and make sure that we give it our all. I think small contributions, big contributions from everyone in different games, in different situations,” Nair told PTI.
“I think that’s what makes a good team to reach the final and win tournaments. So, I think that’s the special thing about this team that everyone puts their hand up in every kind of situation.” But will there be any nerves considering this is Vidarbha’s first Vijay Hazare final? Nair dismissed the notion.
“It’s a very big moment. For Vidarbha, it’s the first Vijay Hazare final. So, it is a huge occasion for everyone. We are all excited. Everyone is really looking forward to playing the final as these kinds of days don’t come too often,” he said.
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