The 19th season of India’s List A cricket tournament will now enter the knockout phase after 95 games of group stage action.
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 group stage matches were concluded on Monday, 1st March 2021. Seven teams booked their place in the quarter-finals after ten days of riveting cricket action. Uttarakhand and Delhi have set themselves for an eliminator on 7th March. The winner of the game will be the eighth quarter-finalist of this season. Let’s discuss the journey of each team in the knockout stages.
Gujarat
The Elite Group A toppers began their tournament with a match against Chhattisgarh on day one of the tournament. The won that and the remaining five group games to top the table with 20 points. Arzan Nagwaswalla, who picked up third-highest number of wickets in the group stages (15) was their star performer.
Match results
- vs Chhatisgarh: won by 3 wickets
- vs Goa: won by 8 wickets
- vs Tripura: won by 132 runs
- vs Hyderabad: won by 12 runs
- vs Baroda: won by 40 runs
Andhra
They topped the Elite Group B. Andhra faced Vidarbha on matchday one and won against them. They went on to win three out of their five group games, only to beat Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh on a better net-run rate. Ricky Bhui who scored 258 runs in the group stage games, hitting 12 sixes was a key performer for Andhra.
Match results
- vs Vidarbha: won by 3 wickets
- vs Tamil Nadu: won by 7 wickets
- vs Punjab: lost by 7 wickets
- vs Madhya Pradesh: lost by 98 runs
- vs Jharkhand: won by 7 wickets
Karnataka
The defending champions were the best team in Elite Group C. They lost to Uttar Pradesh in their first game but won all their remaining games. In the end a superior net-run rate than Uttar Pradesh and Kerala meant, Karnataka qualified for the quarter-finals. Devdutt Padikkal who scored the highest runs in the group stages (572) was their star player.
Match results
- vs Uttar Pradesh: lost by 9 runs (VJD method)
- vs Bihar: won by 267 runs
- vs Odisha: won by 101 runs
- vs Kerala: won by 9 wickets
- vs Railways: won by 10 wickets
Mumbai
Elite Group D toppers with a 100 percent win record. Mumbai beat Delhi in their first game and grabbed all 20 points from the group stages. Their captain Prithvi Shaw who scored the fourth highest runs in the group stage fixtures, included a record breaking innings of 227* was their star performer.
Match results
- vs Delhi: won by 7 wickets
- vs Maharashtra: won by 6 wickets
- vs Puducherry: won by 233 runs
- vs Rajasthan: won by 67 runs
- vs Himachal Pradesh: won by 200 runs
Saurashtra
Finishing at the peak of Elite Group E was Saurashtra. They won their first game against Jammu and Kashmir by 3 wickets and went on to secure 16 out of 20 points from the group stages. Prerak Mankad who scored 252 runs including the third biggest knock of the group stages, 174 was an important player for the 2007-08 season winners.
Match results
- vs Jammu and Kashmir: won by 3 wickets
- vs Haryana: won by 1 wicket
- vs Bengal: won by 149 runs
- vs Chandigarh: won by 62 runs
- vs Services: lost by 68 runs
Uttarakhand
Toppers of the Plate Group by winning all their group games. Iqbal Abdulla who was the most economic bowler during the group stages (2.92) was a key performer for Uttarakhand.
Match results
- vs Meghalaya: won by 6 wickets
- vs Manipur: won by 7 wickets
- vs Arunachal Pradesh: won by 8 wickets
- vs Mizoram: won by 8 wickets
- vs Sikkim: won by 145 runs
Uttar Pradesh and Kerala (two next best teams in Elite groups)
As per the format, the second and the third best team from the Elite Groups would also automatically qualify for the quarter-finals. The close combat in Group C meant, it was to be Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Both UP and Kerala won four out of their five games and had impressive NRR’s that put them in a qualifying spot. Shivam Sharma who has the most wickets so far in the tournament (18) was the star performer for UP. Vintage Robin Uthappa came to the rescue for Kerala with 375 runs and most sixes in the group stage matches (23).
Match results (Uttar Pradesh)
- vs Karnataka: won by 9 runs (VJD method)
- vs Kerala: lost by 3 wickets
- vs Bihar: won by 5 wickets
- vs Railways: won by 70 runs
- vs Odisha: won by 6 wickets
Match results (Kerala)
- vs Odisha: won by 34 runs (VJD method)
- vs Uttar Pradesh: won by 3 wickets
- vs Railways: won by 7 runs
- vs Karnataka: won by 9 wickets
- vs Bihar: won by 9 wickets
Delhi (the fourth best team from elite groups)
Losing only to Mumbai and grabbing 16 points from their five games helped Delhi get a chance to book a quarter-finals ticket. They will face Uttarakhand for the eighth quarter-finalist spot. Nitish Rana scored 296 runs and was a key member of the Delhi XI.
Match results
- vs Mumbai: lost by 7 wickets
- vs Puducherry: won by 179 runs
- vs Himachal Pradesh: won by 6 wickets
- vs Maharashtra: won by 3 wickets
- vs Rajasthan: won by 8 wickets