There's something curiously symmetrical about
Punjab's path through the
Vijay Hazare Trophy. Five losses by one or two runs across the tournament—29th December, 31st December, 26th December, 6th January, 8th January—each one a different kind of agony, the sort of narrow defeats that test a team's nerve more than any heavy loss. Yet here they are in the semifinal, and that 183-run thrashing of their quarterfinal opponents suggests a side that has finally found a way to convert tension into something sharper.
Saurashtra's journey feels less dramatic but no less precarious. They've won when it's mattered, but their recent form reads like a team caught between ambition and execution. That 383 they conceded on 8th January sits uneasily alongside their own ability to post 349 two days earlier. In the knockout rounds of a domestic one-day tournament, consistency with the ball often matters more than brilliance with the bat, and
Saurashtra's bowling has been tested in ways that haven't always been flattering.
What stands out to me is how
Punjab have arrived here despite themselves. Losing five matches by the barest of margins could have unraveled a less resilient group. Instead, they seem to have metabolized those near-misses into something resembling clarity. Their quarterfinal demolition wasn't just comprehensive—it was the first time in weeks they've won without needing to hold their breath in the final over.
Still, semifinals reward different qualities.
Saurashtra have shown they can post totals that demand respect—310, 349, 321 in recent weeks—and in a one-off match, that capacity to pile on runs creates its own pressure.
Punjab's bowling will need to be sharper than it was through much of the group stage, where defending totals seemed to elude them with painful regularity.
If there's a bias worth admitting, it's toward the team that's learned hardship more recently.
Punjab's narrow losses feel like education;
Saurashtra's inconsistency feels like uncertainty. In a format where momentum is half-imagined and half-real, the team that knows how to finish tight games—even if they've been on the wrong side—might just have the edge when it matters most.
