Vijay Hazare Trophy: Karnataka beat Vidarbha to qualify for semi-finals
Karnataka beat Vidarbha to reach the semi-final of the 2023/24 Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 11. The Mayank Agarwal-led side successfully chased down 174, with Ravikumar Samarth anchoring the chase. While he scored an unbeaten 72, his skipper Mayank smashed 51. Earlier, a pivotal four-wicket haul from Vijaykumar Vyshak helped Karnataka bundle out Vidarbha for 173. Here are the key stats.
Here's the match summary
Vidarbha were reduced to 39/4 after they were invited to bat. Akshay Wadkar was the only top-five batter to have scored in double figures. Contributions from Shubham Dubey and Yash Thakur propelled Vidarbha past 170. However, Vyshak's brilliance meant they perished for 173. In reply, Samarth and Mayank made it one-sided for Karnataka. Nikin Jose also smashed 31 as they won by seven wickets.
Vyshak's four-wicket haul helped Karnataka
Vyshak took his first wicket in the form of Aman Mokhade, who recorded a three-ball duck. In his very next over, the Karnataka pacer dismissed the experienced Karun Nair. After the 40th over, Vyshak removed Shubham Dubey, Vidarbha's top scorer in the match (41). The former also took Vidarbha's final wicket (Yash Kadam). Vyshak conceded 44 runs in 8.5 overs.
Karnataka's second-highest wicket-taker in VHT 2023
Vyshak is presently Karnataka's second-highest wicket-taker of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. He owns 14 wickets from seven matches at an average of 24.21. Vyshak is only behind Vasuki Koushik, who has taken 17 wickets at 12.58 in the tournament.
Samarth anchors the run-chase
Samarth anchored Karnataka's run-chase with a 72-run knock. He returned unbeaten after facing 113 balls. The knock was studded with seven boundaries. Samarth shared an 82-run opening stand with skipper Mayank. The former, slamming his 16th List A half-century, has now raced past 2,650 runs in the format. He also has eight List A tons to his name.
Mayank leads Karnataka from the front
Skipper Mayank led Karnataka from the front with a 51-run knock. His 64-ball knock had 6 fours and a maximum. Mayank recorded his second 50+ score of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, having already slammed a ton. The Indian batter has raced to 315 runs and averages 45.00. He is Karnataka's second-highest run-scorer of VHT 2023.
