Vijay Hazare Trophy

Past Vijay Hazare Trophy Editions

• 2025-2026 Season

  The 2025-2026 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy ran from 24 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 and delivered a strong, competitive season across both Elite and Plate levels. Vidarbha claimed the Elite title for the first time, defeating Saurashtra by 38 runs in the final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru. Vidarbha posted 317 for 8, led by Atharva Taide’s superb 128, before bowling out Saurashtra for 279 to seal the championship. The tournament followed the established Elite and Plate structure, with group stages feeding into knockouts, and continued to offer a clear pathway for teams across divisions. Bihar won the Plate title earlier in the season, earning promotion to the Elite tier for 2026-2027, a result that added meaningful movement within the competition.

  This edition stood out for its consistent batting performances and several high-impact individual campaigns that shaped the season’s major storylines. Aman Mokhade finished as Player of the Series with 814 runs, underlining Vidarbha’s strong campaign in the Elite division. The season maintained strong competitive balance, with tight group races and a knockout phase that featured in-form sides peaking at the right time. With its mix of emerging talent, experienced domestic performers and high-scoring venues, the 2025-2026 Vijay Hazare Trophy reinforced its status as India’s premier List A competition and provided a valuable view of team momentum ahead of the next cycle.

• 2024-2025 Season

  It was exciting to watch the Vijay Hazare Trophy season in 2024-2025. It showed how tough Indian regional cricket is. Karnataka won their fifth title by beating Vidarbha by 36 runs in a closely fought final. They performed strongly throughout the match, with a powerful batting display helping them secure the championship. Karnataka scored 348/6 in the final, with Smaran Ravichandran and Krishnan Shrijith making important contributions. Vidarbha fought hard in the chase, with Dhruv Shorey’s hundred leading the response, but they were bowled out for 312.

  Several outstanding individual efforts made the event memorable. Karun Nair of Vidarbha was named Player of the Series after scoring 779 runs, highlighting his consistency throughout the tournament. On the bowling front, Arshdeep Singh of Punjab took the most wickets with 20, showing his impact with the ball. These performances reflected the depth of talent on display during the Vijay Hazare Trophy and highlighted the importance of individual contributions in shaping team success across the competition.

  The 2024-2025 tournament had 38 teams split into five groups, called A-E. The group stage was set up like a round-robin, with the five group winners and the best runner-up going straight to the quarterfinals. The remaining four runners-up competed in preliminary quarterfinals to complete the final eight. This setup made the event highly competitive, with teams fighting for stronger positions throughout the group stage. The playoff system ensured that the best-performing sides progressed to the later stages of the tournament.

  The impact of the previous season was felt across Indian domestic cricket, with several players using the tournament as a platform to make an impression. Haryana’s run to the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions Karnataka was one of the notable stories of the competition. Fans followed the event closely because of its competitive matches, emerging talent and strong performances from domestic teams. The tournament continued to highlight the BCCI’s focus on developing and strengthening India’s domestic cricket structure.

• Earlier Seasons

  The Vijay Hazare Trophy, an annual List A cricket competition in India, played its 31st edition in 2023-2024. It took place from November 12, 2023, until December 16, 2023. There were 38 teams in all, split into five groups for the tournament. Six cities in the nation hosted the matches: Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ranchi, and Ahmedabad. The knockout matches were held in Rajkot. Saurashtra entered the tournament as defending champions. Haryana won their first national title in the final, defeating Rajasthan by 30 runs.

  After the group stage and knockout rounds, four teams qualified for the semi-finals: Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan. The first semi-final took place on December 13 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot, between Haryana and Tamil Nadu. Haryana won by 63 runs and advanced to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The second semi-final was played on December 14 at the same venue between Karnataka and Rajasthan, with Rajasthan winning by 6 wickets to secure their place in the final.

  In the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023-2024, held on December 16, 2023, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, Haryana defeated Rajasthan by 30 runs. Haryana, opting to bat first, set a target of 288 runs with Ankit Kumar top-scoring at 88 off 91 balls. Rajasthan's Aniket Choudhary was the standout bowler, taking 4/49. In response, Rajasthan managed 257 runs in 48 overs, with Abhijeet Tomar scoring a resilient 106 off 129 balls. Sumit Kumar's 3/34 helped restrict Rajasthan's chase, earning him the Man of the Match award and securing Haryana's victory.

  The competition, which bears the name Vijay Hazare in honor of the legendary Indian cricketer, was established as a national tournament in the 2002-2003 season. Before that, the competition was played at a zonal level during the 1993-1994 and 2001-2002 seasons. Tamil Nadu has won the trophy 5 times, making them one of the most successful teams in the competition's history. The best teams from each zone competed in a final round-robin stage during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons. A playoff structure featuring semi-finals and a final has been used since the 2004-2005 event, although the format has changed over the years.

  The winning team of the first national season was Tamil Nadu, with Punjab finishing as runners-up. Mumbai won the 2003-2004 season. The 2004-2005 season had two winners. Railways won the following season in 2005-2006. The Vijay Hazare Trophy has been played regularly since 2002, with the winners of the following seasons being Mumbai, Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Mumbai, Karnataka, Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh, Saurashtra, and Haryana. These teams represent the winners of the first 22 national seasons of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

  Tamil Nadu has won the Vijay Hazare Trophy a record five times, making them the most successful team in the tournament's history. Karnataka and Mumbai have also enjoyed strong campaigns, with multiple titles each. Saurashtra have also established themselves as a major force in domestic cricket, winning the trophy twice in recent seasons, including their first title in the 2008-2009 season.

  This tournament has helped develop many talented players over the years, including Narayan Jagadeesan. In the 2022-2023 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Jagadeesan became the first player to score five consecutive List A centuries. His 277 against Arunachal Pradesh also broke the record for the highest individual score by a male batter in List A cricket at the time, surpassing Ali Brown's previous mark of 268.

* 1993-2002 Seasons were played as Zonal tournaments with 5 different winners