Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 Final: Despite painfully close calls in the 2025-26 season, Vidarbha made sure there wouldn’t be any recurrence of the agony as they tasted their first-ever Vijay Hazare Trophy success in the Vidarbha vs Saurashtra Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 Final match, wherein they defended their title in style.
The match was quite high-scoring, and Vidarbha’s strength in batting, pressure, and pace bowling simply overwhelmed the resilient Saurashtra outfit.
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 Final: Taide Anchors and Accelerates Vidarbha’s Batting
Vidarbha was asked to bat first and they scored an imposing total of 317/8, which proved to be match-winning, despite the dew setting in, which made chasing relatively easier.
The start was equally strong from vindicating Openers Atharva Taide and Aman Mokhade, who were carrying their good form from the semi-final.
The 33-run dismissal of Mokhade brought an end to an 80-run stand, thus thwarting his attempt to match N Jagadeesan’s record of most runs in a Vijay Hazare Trophy season. Dhruv Shorey could not play because of back spasms, so Yash Rathod, who moved up to no. 3, played the supporting role for Taide to thrive.
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Atharva Taide’s Match-Defining Century
Taide shone brightest in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026, scoring an impressive 128. He even got lucky initially, as there was a run-out and a mis-hit that fell just short of reaching the fielder.
Having passed his half-century off 66 balls, Taide changed gears with force:
- Two sixes meant an acceleration.
- One inside-out over extra cover to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja
- Yet another whipped over deep square leg.
Taide marked the moment by scoring the second fifty in just 31 balls. His third List A century and the first since the year 2021, it is Taide’s third century in List A matches.
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Late Overs Pullback Keeps Saurashtra Alive
Speaking of which, the bowlers for Saurashtra, including Ankur Panwar and Chetan Sakariya, picked up regular wickets after Taide’s departure. Vidarbha scored only 36 runs in the last five overs, and one wonders whether that was sufficient on the dew-filled conditions.But what happened next illustrated why Vidarbha were the most well-balanced team in the competition.
Saurashtra’s Chase: Promise, Pressure, and Collapse
Chasing 318, Saurashtra lost Vishwaraj Jadeja – fresh from an unbeaten 165 in the semi-final – and Harvik Desai early. Still, with Prerak Mankad and Chirag Jani at the crease, they remained confident, especially needing just 127 runs from the final 15 overs with six wickets in hand. The turning point came in the 38th over.
Captain Harsh Dubey Turns the Final
The opening of the game was marked by Vidarbha captain Harsh Dubey’s magical LBW that trapped Prerak Mankad for 88, reducing a vital 93-run partnership to nothing. This left the entire responsibility on the shoulders of Chirag Jani, who fought back courageously. Jani got to 64, pacing his innings, and then tried to accelerate towards the end.
Nalkande and Thakur Seal the Title With this, Darshan Nalkande finished off Jani with a pitch-perfect slower ball, lofted by Jani with a mistimed shot, beautifully caught by Mokhade at long-off.
The Vidarbha pacers then took complete control:
- Yash Thakur chose to exclude Jaydev Unadkat and Ruch
- Thakur and Bhute’s initial spells exerted early pressure.
- Nalkande’s late strikes proved decisive
The run chase of Saurashtra started to disintegrate quickly, even as they fought hard.
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