Wicketkeeper K.L. Shrijith and leg-spin bowling all-rounder Shreyas Gopal forged a match-winning 116-run partnership for the fifth wicket as defending champions Karnataka chased down 289 to defeat Tamil Nadu by six wickets with 17 balls remaining in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group A encounter at the Gujarat College Stadium on Monday.
Karnataka found themselves in a precarious position at 136/4, especially with captain Mayank Agarwal contributing 58 runs. However, Shrijith, who scored 77, and Gopal, with 55, combined effectively to rescue their team through intelligent running between the wickets and punishing loose deliveries.
After both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession, Abhinav Manohar remained unbeaten on 20, while Vidyadhar Patil added 17 not out to guide Karnataka home with a flurry of boundaries. This victory marked Karnataka’s third consecutive win in the tournament.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu’s captain N. Jagadeesan played a fluent innings, making 65 runs, supported by Pradosh Ranjan Paul’s 57 and R. Sai Kishore’s 38, which provided some momentum late in the innings. Nevertheless, Abhilash Shetty’s incisive bowling was instrumental in bowling Tamil Nadu out for 288.
Brief Scores:
- Tamil Nadu: 288 in 49.5 overs (N. Jagadeesan 65, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 57; Abhilash Shetty 4-57)
Lost to
Karnataka: 293/6 in 47.1 overs (K.L. Shrijith 77, Mayank Agarwal 58; Sunny Sandhu 1-25, Gurjapneet Singh 1-35)
Result: Karnataka won by four wickets.
In another Group C match at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Madhya Pradesh secured their second consecutive victory by dismissing Kerala for 167, winning by 45 runs. Himanshu Mantri top-scored with 93 off 105 balls, sharing a crucial 66-run ninth-wicket stand with Tripuresh Singh, who made 37.
Kerala’s batting struggled on a turning wicket against Madhya Pradesh’s spin attack, with Shubham Sharma claiming 3-16. Shivag Kumar and Saransh Jain contributed with two wickets each. N.M. Sharafuddeen’s aggressive 42 in the late stages reduced the margin of defeat for Kerala.
Brief Scores:
- Madhya Pradesh: 214 in 46.1 overs (Himanshu Mantri 93, Tripuresh Singh 37; Ankit Sharma 4-38, B Aparajith 3-36)
Beat
Kerala: 167 in 40.1 overs (N.M. Sharafuddeen 42, Salman Nizar 30; Shubham Sharma 3-16, Saransh Jain 2-17)
Result: Madhya Pradesh won by 47 runs.
In other matches, Jharkhand scored 368/7 in 50 overs, led by Kumar Kushagra’s 105 and Anukul Roy’s 98 not out, to beat Pondicherry, who made 235 in 41.4 overs.
Tripura managed 286 all out in 49.5 overs with contributions from Tejasvi Jaiswal (61) and Sridam Paul (50) to defeat Rajasthan, who were bowled out for 220 in 44.2 overs, despite Karan Lamba scoring 61.
Additional Brief Scores:
- Jharkhand 368/7 beat Pondicherry 235
- Tripura 286 all out beat Rajasthan 220