Former India coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday lauded Himachal Pradesh after they caused a huge upset by defeating favorites Tamil Nadu in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 and lifted the title for the first time in their cricketing history.

This was also Himachal’s first title of any sort in Indian domestic cricket history.

The former India all-rounder was speaking after the prize distribution of the 74th Police Shield tournament at the picturesque Mumbai Police Gymkhana. Himachal Pradesh beat Tamil Nadu by 11 runs via the VJD method, while chasing 314 runs to win.

Himachal Pradesh beats Tamil Nadu to win Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021; Indian cricket fraternity reacts

"It is one of the great inspirational stories. You know for a team like Himachal like I said no superstars, but going on to win the tournament, just goes to show that if your work ethics are good, you are grounded, you are humble and you want to play the game in the true spirit of the game as a team, you can achieve great heights. So, hats off to them for pulling off one major upset after another in this tournament," Shastri told reporters.

Shubham Arora scored 136*, while Amit Kumar made 74 and captain Rishi Dhawan made 42* in 23 balls to end up on 299/4 in 47.3 overs when the match was stopped due to poor light. Earlier, Tamil Nadu made 314 when they were 40/4 at one stage. Veteran Dinesh Karthik slammed 116, while Baba Indrajith made 80 and Shahrukh Khan slammed 42 in 21 balls.

(PTI inputs)