Rajkot (Gujarat): Riding on top-order batter Himanshu Rana's fourth List-A century and a four-for from pacer Anshul Kamboj, Haryana crushed five-time champions Tamil Nadu by 63 runs to enter their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy final here on Wednesday.
Thanks to Rana's unbeaten 116 off 118 deliveries, Haryana scored an imposing 293 for seven in 50 overs and then dismissed India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik-led Tamil Nadu for 230 in 47.1 overs in a one-sided match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Kamboj came up with career-best bowling figures of 4/30 in all domestic formats as Tamil Nadu batter were made to bite the dust. Haryana will meet the winners of the second semifinal between Rajasthan and Karnataka to be played here on Thursday.
Rana, who has hardly made an impact this season in the tournament barring a century against a weak Mizoram side, delivered just at the right time, mixing caution with aggression as he shared a 132-run stand with opener Yuvraj Singh (65). Haryana suffered an early setback when opener Ankit Kumar was dismissed for 12, but No.3 Rana and Yuvraj started the rebuilding process.
The 25-year-old Rana was the more aggressive of the two batters, smashed 11 boundaries and two sixes to notch a strike rate in the vicinity of 100. Things were going pretty smoothly for the pair but young Yuvraj's dismissal, caught by Sai Kishore off left-arm pacer T. Natarajan, saw Haryana suffer a major collapse before tailender Sumit Kumar played a cameo innings of 48 (30 balls) to give Haryana an imposing total.
Tamil Nadu stuttered at the start, losing veteran opener Baba Aparajith for 7 before Anshul Kamboj started the demolition job. The 23-year-old right-arm pacer, playing only his 14th List A game dismissed Hari Nishaanth for 1, thus adding to Tamil Nadu's dismal outing.
TN stalwart and Aparajith's twin brother, Baba Indrajith, halted the slide with a patient 64 but his dismissal, clean bowled by Kamboj in the 41st over all but ended Tamil Nadu's bid to enter the final and aim for a sixth title. The last time Tamil Nadu had made it to the title round was in the 2021-22 season, losing to Himachal Pradesh at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Brief scores: Haryana (Yuvraj Singh 65, Himanshu Rana 116 not out, Sumit Kumar 48; T Natarajan 3/79, Varun Chakravarthy 2/67, Sai Kishore 2/41) beat Tamil Nadu 230 in 47.1 overs (Narayan Jagadeesan 30, Baba Indrajith 64, Dinesh Karthik 31; Anshul Kamboj 4/30, Rahul Tewatia 2/50). (With PTI inputs)
