Credit: BCCI/X
Vidarbha wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma came up with a breathtaking diving catch to dismiss Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad during the semi-final of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy at Vadodara International Cricket Stadium on January 16. Notably, Vidarbha defeated Maharashtra by 69 runs to qualify for the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time. For Vidarbha, Yash Rathod and Dhruv Shorey scored respective hundreds while skipper Karun Nair continued his great form with a knock of 88 runs.
In reply to Vidarbha’s big total of 380/3, Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was looking to give his team a good start and attempted to play a big shot of the short ball against Darshan Nalkande in the third over of the innings. The ball went high in the air towards the backward square leg region. Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma ran across the ball and took a dive in the end to complete a breathtaking catch as Gaikwad got out after scoring a mere seven runs.
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Vidarbha to face Karnataka in 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy final
Talking about the match, Vidarbha defeated Maharashtra in a high scoring clash in Vadodare to confirm their place in the final of 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Playing their final of the tournament, Vidarbha will now face four-time champions Karnataka in the title clash in Vadodara on January 18. Batting first, Vidarbha got a great start as the opening batters, Dhruv Shorey (114 off 120) and Yash Rathod (116 off 101) added 224 runs for the first wicket. After that skipper Karun Nair (88* off 44) and Jitesh Sharma (51 off 33) also scored fifties as Vidarbha posted 380/3 in their 50 overs.
Chasing the winning target, opener Arshin Kulkarni top scored for Maharashtra with a knock oof 90(101) runs, while Ankit Bawne also scored 50(49) runs. Apart from that, Nikhil Naik also scored 49(26) but couldn’t take his team down the line as Maharashtra could only score 311 runs losing seven wickets in their 50 overs.
