‘Can’t they have separate group and then qualify’ - Dinesh Karthik criticizes Vijay Hazare Trophy format after Tamil Nadu puts 506 runs on board

It was a day for the records to be broken as Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan produced an outstanding innings at the Chinnasamy Stadium in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group fixture against Arunachal Pradesh. The opening pair of Jagadeesan and Sai Sudharsan have been very consistent this season and they put 416 on the board for the first wicket in just 38.3 overs to record the highest opening partnership in List-A cricket.  

Jagadeesan in particular, played a giant knock and went past the double century for the first time in his List A career. Also, he became the first ever cricketer to hit five consecutive tons in List A cricket and it has been a dream season for him so far. He finally perished after scoring 277 off 141 balls, the highest individual List-A score and hit 25 fours and 15 sixes in his superlative knock.  

The Arunachal Pradesh bowlers were taken to the cleaners and did not have much answers to the assualt. Speaking on Jagadeesan’s massive feat, his state-mate Dinesh Karthik tweeted “WORLD RECORD alert What an amazing effort by @Jagadeesan_200. Couldn’t be happier for him. Big things await #5outta5 Sai Sudarshan what an amazing tournament so far. This opening combo is killing it . Well done boys @TNCACricket#VijayHazareTrophy.” 

Dinesh Karthik unsatisfied with Vijay Hazare Trophy format

Karthik also went on to take a dig at the Vijay Hazare format where the smaller state teams still get to play against much-fancied opponents like Tamil Nadu and it can have a huge effect on the standings. He also suggested a separate group for the lower fancied states for qualification to make the tournament more competitive.  

“Also on another side note Does it make sense to have the north east teams play the elite teams in the league phase . It just topples the run rates of teams and imagine if a match against one of these teams gets rained off! Can’t they have a separate group and then qualify?” 

According to the Vijay Hazare trophy, five elite groups will comprise a total of 38 teams taking part in the competition in a round robin format. Each group consists of atleast one north east side and so far, they haven't had much of a say in the table. Also, the margin of victory of 435 runs sums up the difference in quality between the sides.