Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024: Mayank Agarawal, Tilak Varma and Karun Nair make it big as tournament crosses halfway mark

The talking points of the first half of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, which has just passed the halfway mark.

Mayank Agarawal, the Karnataka captain, registered his third consecutive List A century, in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. However, it was not enough as Hyderabad chased down 322 with two balls to spare. Hyderabad’s chase was fueled by Tilak Varma, who laid the foundation with a 106-ball 99.
After four games, Agarawal is currently the second-highest run-getter in the 50-over competition, having amassed 428 runs in five innings. His strike rate of 117.26 is the highest among the current top five scorers.
Agarawal’s improved form comes at a time when all of Karnataka’s senior players are on alert, and selectors are keen to give opportunities to younger players. The selection rotation has already led to players like Manish Pandey and K Gowtham falling out of favour, while other senior players like R Samarth and Karun Nair have found homes in other state teams.

Agarawal, who went unsold in the IPL 2025 auction, has been in inconsistent form this season. He managed only 179 in seven innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. More importantly, he presided over the elimination of Karnataka in the group stage. In seven innings in the first half of the Ranji season, Agarawal managed only 203 runs at an average of 29.

With four wins from five matches, Karnataka is currently second in Group C, tied on 16 points with leaders Punjab. T20 champions Mumbai are currently in third place with 12 points.

Nair leads from the front

On the other hand, Agarawal’s former Karnataka teammate Nair has been in great form for Vidarbha, whom he also captains. Undefeated in the competition, Nair’s scores so far are: 112*, 44*, 163* and 111*. The last of those blows, also the most recent, was decisive in Vidarbha taking the wind out of Tamil Nadu in Visakhapatnam, whose qualification for the last 16 has taken a slight hit.

Nair currently sits at the top of the run charts, his 430 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 116.21. Their form coincided with Vidarbha topping Group D with four wins from as many matches. Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu currently occupy the second and third positions.

Nair was also the team’s top scorer in SMAT.

Abhishek and Prabhsimran set records

This is the second-highest starting position in the history of the tournament, equaling the record set by Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Gharami in 2022.

Abhishek, also captain of Punjab, scored a career-best 170 off just 96 balls, while Prabhsimran scored 125. The record for the highest opening stand is currently held by N Jagadeesan and B Sai Sudharsan of Tamil Nadu, who they scored 416 against Arunachal in November 2022.

Punjab’s 424 is also the fifth highest total in Vijay Hazare’s history. Saurashtra’s Arpit Vasavada was their top scorer with 104, but they ultimately fell short with 57.

A game before that, Arshdeep Singh registered his second List A five, taking 5 for 38, as Punjab beat Mumbai, in Ahmedabad. Prabhsimran then reached an unbeaten 150, off 101 balls, as Punjab chased down 249 in just 29 overs to gain a huge lead in net run rate over the rest of the field.
Earlier in the tournament, Prabhsimran’s cousin Anmolpreet Singh recorded the third-fastest hundred (from 35 balls) against Arunachal.

Mhatre: quickly climb the ladder

Mhatre, who made his debut for Mumbai earlier this season, hit 11 sixes and 15 fours to make 181 off just 117 balls, while propelling his team to a commanding 403 for 7, which was 189 too many for Nagaland.

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