Prithvi Shaw, Aditya Tare sizzle as Mumbai chase 313 to lift Vijay Hazare Trophy

Prithvi Shaw (73 off 39) and Aditya Tare (118* off 107) came up with excellent knocks as Mumbai chased down a challenging 313-run target against Uttar Pradesh to win the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Mumbai captain Shaw carried on his brilliant form in this season's Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking on the Uttar Pradesh attack from the start. Tare built on the start provided by his captain, staying unbeaten to guide Mumbai to a memorable six-wicket triumph.

The senior Mumbai wicketkeeper-batsman hit 18 fours as he brought up the first hundred of his List A career. Tare, who made his first-class debut more than a decade back, called upon all his experience and played a highly mature knock on the big day.

One of the highlights of Tare’s knock was hitting an out-of-sorts Yash Dayal for three fours in a row in the 33rd over. He brought up his hundred by guiding Aaqib Khan to fine-leg for a single. The 33-year-old hit the winning runs for Mumbai in the 42nd over, slicing Dayal in the gap between short third-man and backward point for a four.

Earlier, Mumbai were set a daunting 313 for victory after an unbeaten 158 from Madhav Kaushik lifted Uttar Pradesh to 312 for 4.

Mumbai wins their 4th Vijay Hazare Trophy title. What a run chase by Mumbai batsmen, the explosive start from Prithvi Shaw ensured the game in their favour. Aditya Tare registers his maiden List A ton, superb innings. Dube also played a great hand, brilliant victory for Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/kICdzBhNHx

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 14, 2021

Shaw, however, ensured Mumbai were never under pressure by producing a scintillating knock. He smashed ten fours and four sixes in his belligerent innings.

Off the very second ball of the Mumbai innings, Shaw crunched Dayal through covers for four to signal his intentions. Dropped at mid-off in the second over of the Mumbai innings, bowled by Aaqib Khan, Prithvi Shaw made Uttar Pradesh pay with back-to-back boundaries in the same over.

In Dayal’s next over, the right-hander smashed his first six, hammering the bowler over deep midwicket. There were two more boundaries, as 15 runs came off the over.

Prithvi Shaw brought up his fifty off just 30 balls, clobbering Shivam Mavi over deep midwicket. Two more sixes followed in Shivam Sharma’s next over as the Mumbai captain looked good for another hundred.

It wasn’t to be another three-figure score, though, as Shaw, on 73, pulled a short ball from Mavi to deep square leg. By the time he perished, Mumbai had motored along to 89 in just 9.1 overs, though.

Earlier in the day, there was slight scare for Mumbai when Shaw was carried off the field after being hit on the shin while fielding. But he returned to produce yet another extraordinary display with the bat. During his knock, Shaw also became the first player to score 800 runs in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Prithvi Shaw hammered 73 off only 39 balls.

The other Mumbai opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, contributed a sedate 29 off 30. The experienced Tare and Shams Mulani (36 from 43) then pushed Mumbai towards victory. After Mulani was dismissed, young all-rounder Shivam Dube came in and hammered 42 off 28 as Mumbai eased home with a whopping 51 balls to spare.

Mumbai's batting prowess puts Madhav Kaushik's ton in the shade

While Shaw and Tare were sensational with the bat, Uttar Pradesh opener Madhav Kaushik also produced a stellar knock earlier in the day. He batted through the fifty overs, remaining unbeaten on 158 off 156 balls, hitting 15 fours and four sixes.

Kaushik featured in a 122-run opening stand with Samarth Singh, who contributed 55 off 73. However, Uttar Pradesh got off to an extremely slow start, as the first three overs of their innings were all maidens.

It was only in the eighth over of the innings that Kaushik opened up, launching Tushar Deshpande for two fours and a six. He then drove Dhawal Kulkarni for consecutive boundaries.

As he grew in confidence, Singh smashed Shivam Dube for three fours in the 16th over - two off short balls and one off a half-volley. He went on to hit three sixes to bring up an impressive half-century. The opening partnership ended when Singh was cleaned up by Prashant Solanki off the last ball of the 26th over.

👀: 118* (107)🆚: Uttar Pradesh🏟️: Arun Jaitley StadiumAditya Tare's unbeaten ton in the final helps Mumbai bring the #VijayHazareTrophy home for the fourth time 🤩🏆#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians pic.twitter.com/9bVWRs6WoI

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 14, 2021

Uttar Pradesh captain Karan Sharma fell for a golden duck to Tanush Kotian, and youngster Priyam Garg could only contribute 21. Kaushik, however, found an able ally in semi-final hero Akshdeep Nath (55 off 40). The duo added 128 for the fourth wicket as Uttar Pradesh approached 300.

Kaushik brought up his hundred by pulling Solanki to long-on for a maximum. Both Kaushik and Nath went on the attack in the last ten overs. The partnership ended in the 49th over when a terrible mix-up saw Nath getting run out.

Kaushik ended Uttar Pradesh’s innings in some style, launching Deshpande for a trio of fours off as many deliveries, the first of which brought up his 150. It was to be nowhere near enough, though, as Mumbai’s batting prowess proved too strong on the day.