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On This Day In 2021: In a nail-biting final, the Rishi Dhawan-led side beat Tamil Nadu to win their maiden crown in the domestic cricket tournament.
On This Day In 2021: Himachal’s victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy marked a landmark moment in India’s domestic cricketing scene. (Image: BCCIdomestic/X, formerly Twitter)
On This Day In 2021: Himachal scripted a historic moment in Indian cricket when they clinched the Vijay Hazare Trophy title on December 26, 2021. In a nail-biting final, the Rishi Dhawan-led side beat Tamil Nadu to win their maiden crown in the domestic cricket tournament. Bad light intervened during the match when Himachal needed 16 runs off 15 deliveries to bag the crown.
The VJD method was applied to find a winner when the game failed to resume. Himachal were then declared winners by 11 runs in Jaipur.
Himachal batter Shubham Arora was awarded the Player of the Match for taking three catches and scoring an unbeaten 136 runs during the chase.
The 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph was the first title of any kind for Himachal in domestic cricket. It was a huge moment for the side that made its Ranji Trophy debut in 1985-86.
Team Himachal did the unthinkable with a home-grown squad shortlisted from a limited player pool. The Indian state accounts for only 0.5 per cent of India’s population, making their feat even more impressive.
Unlike other big teams aided with international experience in their squads, Himachal only had Rishi Dhawan who had represented India in the past.
Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, were captained by veteran India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik in the final.
On this day, the historic final began with Rishi Dhawan winning the toss and electing to field first. He expected the fresh pitch to help his seamers early in the game. The approach worked perfectly well as Baba Aparijith and Narayan Jagadeesan opened the innings for Tamil Nadu but failed to find their footing in the game.
Both batters were dismissed within seven overs after adding a combined 11 runs. Tamil Nadu kept losing wickets frequently, soon finding themselves at 40/4 in 14.3 overs. Team skipper Dinesh Karthik and Baba Indrajith then stepped up for the side to form a 202-run partnership. Karthik scored a century as Tamil Nadu finished with 314 runs on the board.
Shubham Arora and Prashant Chopra kicked off Himachal’s chase in the next innings. Shubham did most of the heavy lifting with his spotless century.
Amit Kumar added another 74 runs before Himachal skipper Rishi Dhawan scored a quick-fire 23-ball 42. The stellar batting display spearheaded Himachal towards what seemed to be a comfortable win before play was stopped in the 48th over.
Himachal’s victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 marked a landmark moment in India’s domestic cricketing scene. It showcased how teams needed vigour and passion more rather than just raw talent to win big trophies.
