The championship match between Maharashtra and Saurashtra will take place on Friday. While batting, Maharashtra posted 350 for seven thanks to a 207-run stand between captain Gaikwad (168 off 126 balls) and batsman Bawne (110 off 89 balls).
With hundreds from Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ankit Bawne, Maharashtra beat Assam by 12 runs on Wednesday to go to their first Vijay Hazare Trophy final. The ultimate showdown between Maharashtra and Saurashtra will take place this Friday. Captain Gaikwad kept up his phenomenal form with 168 off 126 balls, while Bawne hit 110 off 89 balls as they put on 207 runs together to help push Maharashtra to 350 for 7.
Rishav Das (53), Sibsankar Roy (78), and Swarupam Purkayastha (95) kept Assam competitive while chasing the large total. Finally, Assam was bowled out for 338 and 8.
When Assam’s score was 103 for 4 in the 16th over, Sibsankar and Swarupam put on 133 runs to keep the team on pace.
However, Assam lost several rapid wickets when Sibsankar was dismissed in the 36th over, causing them to lose their momentum.
While Rajvardhan Hangargekar led Maharashtra’s bowlers with 10-0-65-4, others, including Manoj Ingale (2/51), Satyajeet Bachhav (1/57), and Shamshuzama Kazi (1/61), contributed to the team’s win by taking out key batsmen.
Before this, Gaikwad continued in the same vein, smashing the Assam bowlers for as many as 18 fours and six maximums, after breaking the List A world record with seven sixes in a 43-run over during his 220 not out against Uttar Pradesh two days before. This is his third century in as many contests.
With an innings that included 10 fours and 2 sixes, Bawne also reached his second hundred of the competition.
The best of the Assam bowlers was Mukhtar Hussain (3/42), who dismissed SS Bachhav for 41 off 52 balls.
There were three quick wickets for Maharashtra after Gaikwad’s departure in the 45th over, but the innings ended on a high note thanks to Shamshuzama Kazi’s four and six.
The brief scores are as follows: Maharashtra 350 for 7 in 50 overs (R Gaikwad 168, A Bawne 110; Mukhtar Hussain 3/42) S Purkayastha (95 runs) and S Roy (78 runs; R Hangargekar (4/65)) led Assam to a score of 332-8 in 50 overs.
