5 Players who have done exceedingly well in Vijay Hazare Trophy

The ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy has produced some magnificent cricket. With majority of top players available for participation, the competition has been closely contested. With India about to tour Australia in January 2016, the players have done their best to come in the reckoning for the national team selection. Here’s a list to top 5 players who have done consistently well for their respective teams and made headlines throughout the tourney.

1. Yuvraj Singh:

The dashing left-hander has been the outstanding performer for Punjab. His match-winning innings have taken his team to the knockout round of the tournament. He has played 5 matches thus far and scored 341 runs at an average of 85.25. He has hit 3 half-centuries, which include scores of 78, 93 and 98. The 98 off 83 balls helped Punjab chase down the steep target of 32, with six balls to spare, in a must-win game against Services. All of these knocks have been simply breathtaking with Yuvi ball-striking has been as powerful as ever. His 16 sixes top the charts of the highest number of maximums hit in the competition.

2. Siddharth Kaul:

Yuvi’s Punjab teammate Siddharth Kaul has been the team’s strike bowler. He is the highest wicket-taker in the competition, sharing the spot with Hyderabad’s Ravi Kiran with 16 wickets. His average though is better at 16.25; hence, he leads the bowling charts. The right-arm fast bowler has picked up a four-for and a five-for each. The most impressive thing has been his ability to strike with the new ball and trouble the opposition’s top order thereby giving Punjab great starts with the ball. The former U-19 World Cup winner (2008), Kaul has been a top performer for his state team in domestic circuit. His best spell is 5/32 from 8.4 runs against Hyderabad.

3. Baba Aparjith:

Another former U-19 World Cup winner (2012), Baba Aparjith of Tamil Nadu is one of India’s brightest talents. A technically sound middle-order batsman and a fine off-spin bowler, the right-hander has become his team’s batting mainstay in recent times. He is the top run-scorer in the competition with 374 runs from 5 matches at an average of 93.50, including 1 ton, 3 fifties and a top score of 137 against Rajasthan. His performances have helped TN storm into the knockout round of the tournament.

4. Sheldon Jackson:

Saurashtra’s wicket-keeper batsman Sheldon Jackson has been in stellar form and is the second highest run-scorer in the tourney. Although Saurashtra missed out on a berth in the quarterfinal, Jackson’s performances have been spectacular for his team. He has scored 345 runs from 5 matches at a Bradmanesque average of 107.47. The opening batsman has hit 2 centuries and 1 fifty including 9 sixes. He also has the highest individual score in the competition- 150* against Goa. He wicket-keeping has also been impressive and accounted for 3 catches and 2 stumpings.

5. Vinay Kumar:

The Karnataka captain is accustomed to leading from the front and continued doing so in this tourney. Unfortunately, though, other players failed to live up to the expectations as the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage of this important tournament. Nevertheless, Vinay gave it his all taking 12 wickets and scoring 149 runs including 2 fifties. He picked up wickets at regular intervals and scored crucial runs lower down the order that enabled his team to win 4 out of 6 matches ensuring a 3rd place finish in the group. His best spell was 4/45 against Railways and top score was 51* against J&K.