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VHT 2025-26 final, Saurashtra vs Vidarbha: Match preview and stats
17 Jan 2026

The much-anticipated final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy is set to take place at the BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The summit match will see Saurashtra and Vidarbha battle it out for their third and maiden title, respectively.

Both teams have been impressive throughout the tournament, reaching this stage without any major star players in their line-ups.

Here we present the match preview.

Journey of both teams
Road to final

Both Saurashtra and Vidarbha secured second place in their respective groups with five wins in six games each.

The former then went past Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-final before beating Punjab in the semis.

Vidarbha went past Delhi in the quarters before getting the better of Karnataka in the following match.

Toss could play a crucial role in final
Toss impact

The toss could be a major factor in the final due to dew setting in during the second innings.

The chasing team has won four out of six knockout matches played across CoE 1 and 2 grounds here.

This trend is likely to continue, further reducing the role of spinners especially in the second innings.

Meanwhile, the game is scheduled to get underway at 1:30pm IST.

Their run in the final
Fact

Saurashtra, who have qualified for their fourth VHT finals, are two-time champions and one-time runners-up. They last qualified for the summit clash in the 2022-23 season, which saw them prevail. Meanwhile, Vidarbha's only previous VHT final appearance came last season, where they lost to Karnataka.

Key batters to watch out for
Player focus

Saurashtra's captain Harvik Desai is their top run-getter with 561 runs at 70.12, while Vishvaraj Jadeja was instrumental in their semi-final victory over Punjab with a blistering 165*.

Vidarbha's batting has been bolstered by Aman Mokhade, the tournament's leading run-scorer with 781 runs at 97.62, and Dhruv Shorey who has scored 515 runs at 73.57.

Mokhade's century in the semi-final against Karnataka was a masterclass.

Bowling strengths of both teams
Bowling prowess

Saurashtra's new ball attack has been led by Ankur Panwar, who is currently the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season with 21 wickets at 22.28.

His teammate Chetan Sakariya, who owns 15 wickets at 28.13, has been effective at the death.

Vidarbha have relied on young pace duo Nachiket Bhut and Yash Thakur, who have claimed 15 wickets each.

Darshan Nalkande, who took a fifer in the semis, also provides a reliable pace option for Vidarbha.

Here are the probable XIs
Line-ups

Saurashtra (Probable XI): Harvik Desai (c & wk), Vishvaraj Jadeja, Prerak Mankad, Sammar Gajjar, Chirag Jani, Ruchit Ahir, Parswaraj Rana, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Ankur Panwar, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya.

Vidarbha (Probable XI): Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Dhruv Shorey, Ravikumar Samarth, Yash Rathod, Yash Kadam, Rohit Binkar (wk), Nachiket Bhute, Harsh Dubey (c), Darshan Nalkande, Yash Thakur.