Taide 128, bowlers' combined show leads Vidarbha to maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title

They were denied in 2024-25, but Vidarbha went one better this time around, beating Saurashtra in a high-scoring game to clinch their maiden Vijay Hazare title.

Both the semi-finals were won in a canter by the chasing team, but Vidarbha's combination of scoreboard pressure - after their imposing 317 for 8 - and top-quality fast bowling ensured they negated the effects of dew to scupper Saurashtra.

Saurashtra backed themselves to take the chase deep after losing Vishwaraj Jadeja, fresh off an unbeaten 165, and Harvik Desai, early. They didn't seem too perturbed at having to score 127 runs off the last 15 overs with six wickets in hand. But Harsh Dubey, Vidarbha's captain, cracked the game open by trapping Prerak Mankad lbw for 88 in the 38th over.

That wicket, which broke a 93-run partnership, led to the chase resting on Chirag Jani's shoulders, and he battled his way through to 64, barely taking any risks until he needed to break free going into the last seven overs.

Then Darshan Nalkande delivered a knockout blow with a superb slower delivery that stuck into the surface and had Jani mistime a lofted hit to a juggling Aman Mokhade at long-off. The wheels came off Saurashtra's chase from there on, as Yash Thakur dismissed Jaydev Unadkat and Ruchit Ahir to seal victory.

If the fast bowling delivered when it mattered, Vidarbha's batting was equally impressive. They lost a key member of the side - Dhruv Shorey - to back spasms just prior to the game, but didn't let that affect their dynamics.

Like they did in the semi-final, the in-form Mokhade and Atharva Taide started steadily; Mokhade was dismissed for 33 when he chopped on off Ankur Panwar to break an 80-run stand in the 17th over. That meant he fell 17 runs short of equalling N Jagadeesan's record for most runs in a Hazare season.

Yash Rathod, promoted to No. 3, played anchor to then allow Taide to step on the gas. Reprieved on 8 by third umpire Abhijeet Bengeri when a tight run-out chance at the striker's end went in his favour, Taide also survived a miscue on 30 when it landed just wide of mid-on.

Having brought up his half-century off 66 balls, Taide then marked a shift by hitting two sixes in two overs. The first was a delightful inside-out hit over extra cover off left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, while the second exhibited his range as he whipped a short ball into the body over deep square leg.

When he brought up three figures, Taide celebrated animatedly. It was his third List A century, and his first since hitting 164* against Andhra in 2021. His second fifty took just 31 deliveries.

But after his dismissal, Saurashtra fought back through Panwar and Sakariya to strike regularly. When Vidarbha managed just 36 runs off the last five overs, there was a sense that they may have fallen a tad short of where they should've been. But their relentless fast bowlers - Thakur and Bhute to begin with, and later Nalkande - ensured Vidarbha wouldn't be denied for a second-year running.