Uttar Pradesh target early Prithvi Shaw dismissal in Vijay Hazare final


Uttar Pradesh target early Prithvi Shaw dismissal in Vijay Hazare final

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A new-look Uttar Pradesh will bid to stop Mumbai skipper Prithvi Shaw, who is in sensational form, when they meet on Sunday in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy national one-day


tournament at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.


Shaw, 21, has already hit a record aggregate for the season, 754 with three centuries and a double century, in a great domestic comeback after being axed from the India Test squad and


another success in the final would be seen as all his work on technique coming to fruition.


Former joint champions Uttar Pradesh, led by seasoned leg-spinner Karan Sharma, are confident of tackling domestic giants Mumbai and Shaw on what is expected to be a batting pitch.


“If we execute our plans well, victory will automatically come our way, but for that we all need to put our best foot forward one last time,” UP chief coach Gyanendra Pandey said on


Saturday.


He praised Shaw’s batting form but said it everything depended on how one played that day. “We too have the bowlers with potential to tackle him, and also the batsmen who can chase any


target, in any condition. Our showing in all the seven matches so far is a testimony to our strength, and we believe in ourselves the most,” said Pandey.


Shaw has so far dominated the tournament with his amazing display with the bat. He has brightened his India comeback chances for the upcoming three ODIs against England.


Uttar Pradesh has many performers. In the semi-final win over Gujarat on Thursday, pacers Yash Dayal and Aaquib Khan removed the top order, including Gujarat “run machine” Priyank Panchal,


and the fielders effected three run-outs and Akshdeep Nath top-scored with 71 in the five-wicket win.


Uttar Pradesh hope to exploit Shaw’s weakness against the in-coming delivery which saw him lose his Test spot. Left-arm pacer Dayal can do that, and Khan too swings the ball while left-arm


spinner Shivam Sharma (20 wickets) is the leading wicket-taker. Shaw though has worked on his technique whose result has been seen in this series.


UP will also pin hopes on openers Abhishek Goswami and Madhav Kaushik to provide a strong start against the Mumbai bowling.


Besides Shaw, Mumbai’s batting would revolve around Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, experienced wicket-keeper batsman Aditya Tare, and all-rounder Shams Mulani or Shivam Dube. Seasoned


pacer Dhawal Kulkarni (14 wickets) will lead the bowling. If UP win their third summit clash, it would be their second title. For Mumbai, it would be their fourth title, and the first since


2018-19.