Karnataka’s resolve to take a position sooner or later forward of the season paid wealthy dividends as a younger brigade, led by southpaw R. Smaran, stepped as much as beat Vidarbha by 36 runs in a high-scoring closing of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on the Kotambi Stadium right here on Saturday.
Dhruv Shorey’s third century on the bounce and Harsh Dubey’s late fireworks weren’t sufficient within the face of a 349-run goal as Karnataka claimed a record-equalling fifth title, going degree with Tamil Nadu.
Vidarbha’s unbeaten run whereas chasing on this match ended, as did Karun Nair’s sizzling streak and his hopes of redemption.
Earlier, crisis-management duties have been squarely positioned on Smaran’s younger shoulders once more, and the 21-year-old dealt with them with precocious composure.
KV Aneesh and skipper Mayank Agarwal had perished in an identical trend, checking a drive straight to the duvet fielder, and Devdutt Paddikal’s prolific run was snapped early on. With Karnataka tottering at 67 for 3, Smaran and Krishnan Shrijith joined fingers for a 160-run partnership off 137 balls.
AS IT HAPPENED: VHT Ultimate – VID vs KAR Highlights
Armed with a excessive backlift, Smaran broke the shackles with a forceful drive down the bottom. The left-handed duo cranked via the gears after the midway mark, and located their bearings in opposition to offies Yash Kadam and Karun Nair, who conceded 43 runs within the six overs they bowled in tandem.
Smaran was robust off each his ft, and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than he pounced on Nair with a slog sweep and a pull, plundering 10 runs off two freebies.
Shrijith pressed ahead with nimble ft to drive within the ‘V’ and lower with panache sq. of the wicket to go away the bowlers with little margin for error. After Shrijith fell, Abhinav Manohar was the aggressor in a 63-ball century stand with Smaran, who reached his second ton off 89 balls.
Manohar laid into Vidarbha’s tempo trio. The quick stuff was pulled or swatted away with disdain, and any correction in size was pushed over the infield.
The Manohar-manufactured carnage yielded 79 runs off the final six overs, eliciting cheers from the sparsely populated stands and organising an uphill battle for Vidarbha.
Temporary scores:
Karnataka 348/6 in 50 overs (R. Smaran 101, Krishnan Shrijith 78, Abhinav Manohar 79) beat Vidarbha 312 in 48.2 overs (Dhruv Shorey 110, Harsh Dubey 63, V. Koushik 3/47, Prasidh Krishna 3/84, Abhilash Shetty 3/58).