Vijay Hazare Trophy: From Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal to Shivam Sharma, a look at top performers

Mumbai won the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy after an impressive six-wicket victory over Uttar Pradesh in the final.

But the focus, for most observers, was not so much on who won the tournament. Rather, it was on the new faces that make themselves known or even perhaps old stars putting their hand up to show that they are no longer out of form and are new options that the selectors need to keep an eye out.

Given the absence of competitive cricket, the Indian Premier League teams would have an opportunity to evaluate the form of their players and even see how some of them might perform in slightly different roles.

Aditya Tare’s unbeaten century helped Mumbai chase down a stiff target of 313 in the final but the batsman who stole the show throughout the tournament was opener Prithvi Shaw, who roared back into form after looking like a pale shadow of himself during India’s tour of Australia.

How Prithvi Shaw bounced back from Australia tour to a spectacular run at Vijay Hazare Trophy

It was Mumbai’s fourth triumph in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and their second in last three years. Only Tamil Nadu has won the title more times (5) than Mumbai who shrugged off a disappointing campaign in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy to get back to winning ways.

Here’s a look at the top performers from the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy:

Batting

The pitches were great for batting and three batsmen, in particular, had a ball. Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal grabbed the headlines but Samarth R, the other Karnataka opener, didn’t do too badly either.

Shaw and Padikkal scored four centuries each but it was the Mumbai batsman who seemed to get better as the tournament wore on.

Shaw’s strike-rate showed that perhaps he is a level above domestic cricket and if he can get his mind back in the game, he could make it back to the Indian side in quick time.

Padikkal, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, showed that he continues to develop as a batsman and will be a force to reckon with soon.

Bowling

Many of the top bowlers were in the Indian team’s bio-bubble and it wasn’t easy for the others in general but there were some who stood out.

Shivam Sharma had not played any first-class, List A or domestic T20 when he first represented the Kings XI Punjab in 2014 but now, as a 27-year-old, he has emerged as a top wicket-taker in the tournament.

Shivam Sharma, who originally hails from Delhi, is a genuine allrounder who bowls off-spin and perhaps this performance will help push him back into the limelight. Veteran pacer S Sreesanth got a five-wicket haul on his comeback after the ban and Dhawal Kulkarni maintained a superb economy rate through the tournament.

Here’s a look at the top bowlers:

All stats courtesy bcci.tv