Ruturaj Gaikwad's purple patch continued as his mammoth 168-run knock helped Maharashtra post a total of 350/7 which could not be chased down by Assam in the semi-final of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. Gaikwad-led Maharashtra won the match by 12 runs to reach the final against Saurashtra despite solid knocks from middle-order batters Sibsankar Roy and Swarupam Purkayashtha.
Assam skipper Kunal Saikia won the toss and opted to field first. Gaikwad picked up where he left off whereas Rahul Tripathi struggled to rotate strike. Tripathi succumbed to the dot ball pressure and lost his wicket to Mukhtar Hussain (3).
In the 20th over, Gaikwad got to his half-century from 56 deliveries. Satyajeet Bachhav who was looking settled at the crease missed out on his half-century. In the 22nd over, Avinov Choudhury got the breakthrough. Bachhav scored 41 runs from 52 deliveries including four boundaries.
Gaikwad and Ankit Bawne dominated the proceedings. Gaikwad got to his century in the 32nd over. He took 88 deliveries to reach his second century on the trot. Bawne accelerated too and got to his half-century from 56 deliveries.
After the 40th over, both batters took the attack to the opposition and succeeded. In three overs, they scored 61 runs as Gaikwad broke free and got to his 150 with a six. He took 120 deliveries to score another 150 in the tournament.
Riyan Parag turned out to be the man with the golden arm for Assam. The unorthodox spinner stopped Gaikwad from scoring another double ton. Gaikwad scored 168 runs from 126 deliveries including 18 fours and six sixes. When he got out in the 45th over, Maharashtra's score was 302/3. The two shared a 207-run partnership for the third wicket.
In the 47th over, Bawne reached his century from just 81 deliveries. In the last two overs, as many as four wickets fell but Samshuzama Kazi's 4-ball 11 helped Maharashtra post 350/7. Bawne scored 110 runs from 89 deliveries including 10 fours and two sixes. Hussain turned out to be the pick of the bowlers with 42/3 in nine overs.
In the run chase of 351, Assam lost opener Rahul Hazarika (5) for a single-digit score. Rishav Das made use of the fielding restrictions and hit boundaries whereas Saikia failed to score even one. Saikia got out in the 11th over to Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Parag walked out at no.4 and the team was expecting another big knock from him after the successful run chase of 351 against Jammu & Kashmir in the quarter-final. Parag hit two sixes in his 11-ball 15 but his stay at the crease was short-lived. Hangargekar got the big wicket of Parag to push Assam on back foot. Kazi then got the wicket of Das as well. He scored 53 runs from 49 deliveries including nine fours and one six.
From 103/4 in 16th over, Assam needed a big partnership. Roy and Purkayastha delivered and kept the run chase alive. They shared a 133-run partnership for the fifth wicket. The partnership was broken by Manoj Ingale in the 36th over. Roy got out after scoring 78 runs from 63 deliveries including nine fours and two sixes. Despite Roy’s wicket, the partnership was not threatening. Purkayastha did not take his foot off the accelerator despite the wickets of Saahil Jain (8) and Rajjakuddin Ahmed (11).
Purkayastha's fightback came to an end in the 45th over. Hangargekar took his fourth wicket of the innings. He scored 95 runs from 87 deliveries including 10 fours and one six. In the end, it was too tough an ask for taileders Mukhtar (12) and Avinov (19) as Assam lost the match by 12 runs.
