Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023, knockouts: All you need to know
The 2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy saw its group stage conclude as 10 teams have progressed to the knockouts. On December 9, there will be two preliminary quarter-final clashes. The two winners will move into the last eight with the main round of quarter-finals to be played on Monday, December 11. Ahead of the key knockout stage, we present the major details.
Why does this story matter?
Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bengal will battle it out in the pre-quarter-finals for two spots in the last eight. Bengal face Gujarat whereas Kerala will take on Maharashtra. Both these matches and the four quarter-final games will be played in Rajkot. Meanwhile, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Rajasthan, Vidarbha, and Karnataka have already booked a direct berth in the quarter-finals.
Preliminary quarter-final matches: Key details
December 9 - PQF 1: Bengal vs Gujarat - SCA Stadium Ground C (Rajkot), Dec 9 PQF 2: Kerala vs Maharashtra - SCA Stadium (Rajkot) The winner of the match between Bengal and Gujarat will face Haryana in the quarters. The winner between Kerala and Maharashtra will take on Rajasthan in the quarters. Both the preliminary matches will start at 9:00am IST.
Key details of the quarter-finals
QF 1: Haryana vs Winner of PQF 2 - SCA Stadium (Rajkot), December 11 QF 2: Rajasthan vs Winner of PQF 1 - SCA Stadium Ground C (Rajkot), December 11 QF 3: Vidarbha vs Karnataka - Sanosara Cricket Ground 'A' (Rajkot), December 11 QF 4: Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu - Sanosara Cricket Ground 'B' (Rajkot), December 11 All matches will start at 9:00am IST.
Why Mumbai reached the quarters at Kerala's expense?
In Group A consisting of 8 teams, Kerala finished 20 points with an NRR of +1.553. Meanwhile, Mumbai finished on 20 points with an NRR of +1.017. However, the latter took the first position by having beaten Kerala earlier in the competition as NRR wasn't considered. On the final matchday, Kerala suffered an 18-run defeat versus Railways after Mumbai lost to Odisha.
Different scenario in Group B
In an eight-team Group B, Vidarbha, Maharashtra, and Services finished with 20 points each. As per ESPNcricnfo, Vidarbha topped the group based on NRR (+1.479). Maharashtra took second place (+0.985).
What happened in Groups C and D?
Group C consisting of eight teams saw the likes of Haryana and Karnataka progress. Haryana collected 28 points to Karnataka's 24. Here, both the teams gained direct quarter-final berths. Group D consisting of 7 teams saw Rajasthan top the group with 24 points. Gujarat entered the preliminary knockout stage after finishing second.
TN reach quarters despite being behind on NRR
Tamil Nadu were behind Bengal in terms of NRR in Group E consisting of 7 teams. However, the former made it to the quarter-finals after beating Bengal earlier in their Group E contest. Both sides finished on 20 points each with TN collecting an NRR of +1.114. Bengal's NRR was +1.765.
A look at the top performers
Among the 10 teams in the knockouts, Maharashtra's Ankit Bawne remains the top scorer with 491 runs at 98.20. He owns three tons and a fifty. In five matches for Karnataka, Devdutt Padikkal owns 465 runs at 155.00 (100s: 2, 50s: 3). Rajasthan's Rahul Chahar, Karnataka's Vasuki Koushik, and Munbai's Tushar Deshpande have collected 16 scalps each respectively.
