Determined Delhi, spirited Gujarat eye Vijay Hazare title

The selectors have had a chance to look at the players and the squad for the limited overs series in Australia has been picked. The players have had enough opportunities to make their case.

From the two teams in the Vijay Hazare 2015-16 final - Delhi and Gujarat - only Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Axar Patel will be on that flight to Australia. For the troika, it'll be another chance to polish off the rough edges ahead of the important tour but for the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Parthiv Patel, the two captains, it'll be a chance to etch their name in history books.

After 84 matches, played in four different cities, both Delhi and Gujarat have earned the right to have a shot at glory and will take on each other in a day-night final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Monday (December 28).

Delhi will feel they have the edge in all departments. Gambhir, Unmukt Chand and Dhawan form the backbone of the batting line-up and the other batsmen, especially Nitish Rana, have done really well to play around them. Ishant Sharma's presence also makes a big difference while Manan Sharma and Pawan Negi also have held their own at different stages of the tournament.

Delhi have missed out on a number of occasions and Chand admitted the team was determined to do well in this editions. "Losing out in the days' -- we did not qualify because we lost one of the matches against Assam, and we were topping the table," he said.

"We wanted to get back from that setback and really wanted to prove that we are a good side. Gauti bhai has backed youngsters to the hilt.

"There are so many young players who have come in to play this season. It proves our mettle ... what Delhi is capable of doing. I'm really happy that we're there in the final. Hopefully, we can pull it off in the final as well."

Gujarat, on the other hand, bank heavily on Axar and Parthiv. Though Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi stood up in the semi-final clash against Tamil Nadu, the others faltered in the all-important clash. The pattern was same in the quarter-final clash as well. Parthiv gave them a solid start in the modest chase, they took off beautifully and then stuttered.

Confidence is a simply amazing creature and the way it helps a player is fascinating. In July, Axar was called a 'ball-roller' by Sunil Gavaskar. One month later he went on to return figures of 6-6-0-4 against South Africa A in Wayanad. A month later he was hammered for 22 runs in an over by JP Duminy, in the first Twenty20 International (T20I) in Dharamsala and his critics were out again.

After a not-so fruitful limited overs series, Axar is now the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament and is supremely confident at the moment. If his batting helped them get through, it was his bowling that knocked Tamil Nadu out of the tournament.

The last time Gujarat were in the Vijay Hazare final, in 2010-11, they succumbed to a demoralising 159-run defeat. The last time Delhi were in the final, in 2012-13, they cruised to a 75-run win. Gambhir, Chand, Rana and Dhawan were part of that squad.

Delhi will be buoyed by the fact that they've played both their games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and know the conditions better than Gujarat, who have played their knockout games in Alur. Another thing that Gujarat will have to be vary of is that Gambhir brings out his A game in the finals.Be it the World T20 final in 2007 or the World Cup final in 2011, Gambhir has stood up and steered the team home.

The final is going to be a day-night fixture and dew is going to play a part later in the day. Fortunately for the teams, it isn't expected to be a deciding factor. "I don't think it is going to make much of a difference. It's going to be good fun," acknowledged Chand.

Delhi will have to be wary of the Axar threat if they want to repeat their 2012-13 feat and Chand said they aren't taking Gujarat lightly. "We can't take any opposition lightly," he said. "We were beaten by Assam in the days and that cost us the knockout berth. We lost against Vidarbha, a very close match, we could not chase 163.

"We have got enough instances for the fact that we can't take any opposition lightly and of course it being a final, we have to raise the bar in all the three departments and make sure that we put in a 100%, do our best so that we win the finals as well," Chand concluded.

Gujarat have narrowly missed out on a quarter-final berth in the Ranji Trophy this season and this is their chance to add a silverware to the trophy case. To do that, they'll have a stern Delhi test to pass, who look more formidable going into the clash. However, the last thing you want to do in cricket is predict a winner.

Teams (likely):

Delhi: Rishabh Pant, Skikhar Dhawan, Unmukt Chand, Gautam Gambhir (capt), Milind Kumar, Nitish Rana, Manan Sharma, Pawan Negi, Subodh Bhati, Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini.

Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt), Priyank Panchal, Bhargav Merai, Rujul Bhatt, Chirag Gandhi, Axar Patel, Manprit Juneja, Rohit Dahiya, Rush Kalaria, Hardik Patel.