Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022/23: Presenting the eight quarter-finalists
The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23 has reached its business end. After clearing the league stage and preliminary quarter-finals, eight teams have advanced to the quarter-final round. Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and Saurashtra are the top-eight sides. All four quarter-final matches will take place on Monday (November 28). Here we decode the teams in the top eight.
What are the knock-out stage rules?
The group-toppers from all five groups directly advanced to the quarter-finals. Six top-ranked sides from, among the remaining teams across groups, as determined by points/wins/NRR, tussled in the pre-quarter-finals. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Saurashtra are the five teams to get direct entries in the quarters. Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka had to clear the pre quarter-finals.
Schedule of the quarter-finals
Punjab vs Karnataka, 1st quarter-final, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, 9:00 AM IST Maharashtra vs Uttar Pradesh, 2nd quarter-final, Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad, 9:00 AM IST Assam vs Jammu and Kashmir, 3rd quarter-final, Gujarat College Ground, Ahmedabad, 9:00 AM IST Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra, 4th quarter-final, GS Patel Stadium, Nadiad, 9:00 AM IST All four matches will take place on November 28.
Saurashtra seal the top-most berth in Group A
With five wins in seven games, Saurashtra finished the league stage as the table-toppers of Group A. Though three other sides also won as many matches, Saurashtra's NRR of 1.737 was the highest. Samarth Vyas was the side's most-successful batter in the league stage, having scored 371 runs at 53. With 13 scalps, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Jaydev Unadkat are the side's joint-leading wicket-takers.
Assam dominated Group B
Assam won six of their seven games and finished atop the Group B standings. While Karnataka also won as many games and even finished with a better NRR (+1.721), Assam finished above on the virtue of defeating Karnataka in the league stage. Riyan Parag (363) scored the most runs for the side. Mukhtar Hussain and Avinov Choudhury have scalped 11 wickets apiece so far.
Tamil Nadu's invincible run in Group C
While Tamil Nadu won five games, two of their clashes got washed out in the league stage. Hence, they are yet to face a defeat in the competition. Narayan Jagadeesan has been the key behind their success, having scored 882 runs, the highest in the tournament so far. Sonu Yadav and Sandeep Warrier have been the side's stand-out bowlers, scalping nine wickets apiece.
Jagadeesan's record-breaking tournament
Jagadeesan, during the tournament, became the first batter to slam five consecutive centuries in List-A cricket. He also recorded the highest individual score in the format (277). Jagadeesan's double-ton powered TN to the highest team score in the format, 506/2 vs Arunachal Pradesh.
Perfect campaign for Punjab
Punjab won all of their six games and finished as the table-toppers of Group D. Skipper Mandeep Singh led his side from the front as his tally of 281 runs is the highest for a Punjab batter this season. He has only been dismissed once so far. Abhishek Sharma has been phenomenal with the ball, scalping 12 wickets. He has also scored 193 runs.
Six out of six for Maharashtra
Another team to win all their six games in the league stage is Maharashtra from Group E. Opener Rahul Tripathi was instrumental in taking the side to the final eight, having scored 512 runs. Tripathi, who's currently the fourth-highest run-getter this season, also smashed three successive centuries. With 11 scalps, Satyajeet Bachhav is the leading wicket-taker of the side.
Jammu and Kashmir impressed one and all
J&K finished as the second-ranked team in Group D with five wins in six games. They then thrashed Kerala by seven wickets in the preliminary quarter-finals to get a place in the top eight. Vivrant Sharma has been their most successful batter, having scored 361 runs at 60.16. Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh have been the side's stand-out bowlers, scalping 12 wickets apiece.
Uttar Pradesh also manage to qualify
Having finished second in Group A with five wins in seven games, Uttar Pradesh met Mumbai in the preliminary quarter-finals and won the contest by eight wickets. Youngster Aryan Juyal has been prolific this season, having scored 335 runs at 55.83. Shivam Mavi, who recorded a four-fer in the pre quarter-finals, is leading the wicket-taking charts for the side with 14 wickets.
Karnataka find a place in top-eight
After narrowly missing out on the top spot in Group B, Karnataka met Jharkhand in the Preliminary quarter-final. They comprehensively won the knock-out clash by five wickets. Meanwhile, Nikin Jose is currently the side's leading run-scorer with 409 runs (Average: 68.16). Vasuki Koushik's tally of 16 wickets is only second to Madhya Pradesh's Kuldeep Sen (18) in the tournament so far.
