4-time champions Karnataka secured their place within the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 remaining with a superb five-wicket victory over Haryana within the first semifinal on the Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, on January 15.
Devdutt Padikkal was the star of the present, anchoring Karnataka’s chase with an 86 off 113 balls. The southpaw laced his innings with eight boundaries and one six and shaped a vital stand with Ravichandran Smaran. His partnership of 128 runs with Smaran, who remained unbeaten on 76 off 94 balls, was key in Karnataka’s pursuit of the 238-run goal. Padikkal, who was coming off a superb knock within the quarter-finals, continued his effective type, smashing his seventh consecutive fifty-plus rating in Checklist A cricket.
The chase started on a poor notice with skipper Mayank Agarwal departing for a duck. Nonetheless, Padikkal and Smaran steadied the ship and acquired the aspect again within the recreation. Though Haryana struck again with three fast wickets, lowering Karnataka to 225/5, Shreyas Gopal (23* off 20) and Abhinav Manohar ensured there have been no additional hiccups, taking the group residence with 16 balls to spare.
Earlier within the day, Karnataka’s resolution to bowl first was proper as left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty delivered a superb efficiency. The younger bowler claimed 4/34 in his 10 overs, dismantling Haryana’s center and decrease order. Shetty’s efforts triggered a collapse that noticed Haryana lose 5 wickets for simply 57 runs.
Haryana’s innings noticed contributions from skipper Ankit Kumar (48) and Himanshu Rana (44) stitching a 70-run partnership. Nonetheless, the group might solely handle 237/9 of their 50 overs, as Prasidh Krishna and Shreyas Gopal chipped in with two wickets every to limit the opposition.
With this win, Karnataka overcame their semifinal jinx, getting into the ultimate after three defeats of their final 4 makes an attempt at this section. Padikkal was awarded Participant of the Match for his batting and fielding, which included three catches. Karnataka will now meet the winner of the second semifinal between Vidarbha and Maharashtra.
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