Centuries from Devdutt Padikkal and Karun Nair propelled defending champions Karnataka to an impressive eight-wicket victory over neighbours Kerala in their Elite Group A match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad.
Padikkal and Nair combined for a match-winning 223-run partnership off 234 balls for the second wicket as Karnataka successfully chased down Kerala’s total of 284/7 with 10 balls to spare. After winning the toss and electing to field, Karnataka restricted Kerala after they stumbled to 49 for three.
Baba Aparajith (71 off 62) and wicketkeeper Mohammed Azharuddeen (84 off 58) played crucial roles in the recovery. Left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty claimed figures of 3-59, while leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal took 2-61. Karnataka lost captain Mayank Agarwal early in their innings, but Padikkal and Nair steadied the ship and led their team to a second consecutive victory.
In another exciting encounter, Madhya Pradesh edged past Tamil Nadu by two wickets. B Sai Sudharsan (51) and captain Narayan Jagadeesan (55) set a solid foundation with a 115-run opening stand, allowing Tamil Nadu to post a total of 280 in 49.3 overs, with contributions from Mohammed Ali (57) and Sunny Sandhu (43). For MP, left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya ended with figures of 3-62.
In response, Yash Dubey (92 off 109) and wicketkeeper Himanshu Mantri (90 off 94) formed a crucial 178-run partnership for the second wicket, guiding MP to complete the chase with four balls remaining.
Jharkhand bounced back from their opening loss to Karnataka with a convincing 73-run victory over Rajasthan. Opener Shikhar Mohan scored 129 off 118 balls, supported by Anukul Roy’s brisk 52 off 43 deliveries, helping Jharkhand post a total of 301. Despite a century from Karan Lamba (102), Rajasthan was dismissed for 228.
Tripura also celebrated their first win of the tournament with a dominant seven-wicket victory over Puducherry, who were bowled out for just 150, with Swapnil Singh taking three wickets. Captain Udiyan Bose (53) and Vijay Shankar (47 not out) guided Tripura home in just 32.3 overs.
Brief scores:
Kerala 284/7 in 50 overs (Mohammed Azharuddeen 84, Baba Aparajith 71; Abhilash Shetty 3/59) lost to Karnataka 285/2 in 48.2 overs (Karun Nair 130 not out, Devdutt Padikkal 124) by eight wickets.
Tamil Nadu 280 all out in 49.3 overs (Mohammed Ali 57, Narayan Jagadeesan 55; Kumar Kartikeya 3/62) lost to Madhya Pradesh 283/8 in 49.2 overs (Yash Dubey 92, Himanshu Mantri 90; Govinth Ganesh 4-54) by two wickets.
Jharkhand 301 all out in 50 overs (Shikhar Mohan 129, Anukul Roy 52; Khaleel Ahmed 4-49) beat Rajasthan 228 all out in 50 overs (Karan Lamba 102; Shubham Singh 6-50) by 73 runs.
Puducherry 150 all out in 41.3 overs (Jayant Yadav 51; Viki Saha 3-23) lost to Tripura 151/3 in 32.3 overs (Udiyan Bose 53, Vijay Shankar 47 not out; Sagar Udeshi 2-16) by seven wickets.