Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018: Harbhajan Singh Reckons MS Dhoni's Presence Would have Made a Difference

Harbhajan Singh believes MS Dhoni’s presence would have made the difference in the semifinal clash of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018. Meanwhile, Delhi defeated Jharkhand by two wickets in the semi-final and will now face Mumbai in the summit clash. However, the veteran India spinner congratulated Gautam Gambhir-led side for qualifying for the finals and wrote had MS Dhoni been there, the result would have been different. In his congratulatory tweet, Harbhajan Singh wrote,

Delhi thump Jharkhand in semifinal clash

Congrats captain @GautamGambhir and Team Delhi for reaching #VijayHazare finals. Well done #pawanNegi But who knows @msdhoni presence could have been the difference. Team Jharkhand must have missed him today @BCCIdomestic

Congrats captain @GautamGambhir and Team Delhi for reaching #VijayHazare finals. Well done #pawanNegi But who knows @msdhoni presence could have been the difference .Team Jharkhand must have missed him today @BCCIdomestic

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 18, 2018

Meanwhile, MS Dhoni had denied joining the Jharkhand side for the knockout games saying he would not want the team rhythm to get altered. Earlier, MSK Prasad had said in public that MSD would play the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018; and later, the former India captain squashed all hopes by saying ‘No’.

However, coming to the game, it was Gautam Gambhir who had won the toss and elected to bowl first in Bengaluru. Backing his captain’s call, fast bowler Navdeep Saini ran riot early on, picking up three wickets inside 15 overs. Though some resistance from opener Anand Singh (36) and batsman Virat Singh (71) helped Jharkhand score 199 in 50 overs, pacer Saini was the pick of the fast bowlers, as he bagged four wickets for 30 runs in his ten overs.

Pawan Negi – the star for Delhi

Now, coming out to bat, Delhi openers Unmukt Chand and Gautam Gambhir began well before Varun Aaron provided Jharkhand with the first breakthrough. However, with the help of some sensible batting from the middle order, Delhi were closing in the gap. Though they were looking likely to get past the winning line, Anand Singha and Ankul Roy bagged a few crucial wickets in the middle orders to put a halt. Shabaaz Nadeem, who had made headlines earlier in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018, picked up two wickets as well.

With as many as seven Delhi wickets were down in no time, Pawan Negi took the onus on himself to see his side through. He, later, along with Navdeep Saini, who scored unbeaten 13, helped Delhi beat Jharkhand by two wickets in the semis of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018.

Delhi Won by 2 Wicket(s) (Qualified) #DELvJHA @paytm #VijayHazare #SF

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 18, 2018

However,  Harbhajan Singh was of the opinion that had MS Dhoni been there, who knows Jharkhand would have crossed the line.