Dominant Karnataka clinch Vijay Hazare title

Dhruv Shorey's sixth List A century went in vain as Karnataka ended Vidarbha's unbeaten run and secured a 36-run win in Vadodara, on Saturday, to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.

Led by Smaran Ravichandran's second List A ton, Karnataka posted a massive 348 for 6 after being put in to bat. Vidarbha made a steady start in the run-chase, but kept losing wickets at regular intervals and failed to keep up with the required rate.

Karnataka struggled to get momentum early on in their innings, losing the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over. However, Smaran and Shrijith ensured that the momentum was not handed over to Vidarbha. The duo combined to add 160 runs for the fourth wicket, which provided the spine to Karnataka's innings.

Manohar got into the groove early in the innings, smashing Nachiket Bhute for two boundaries and a six off successive deliveries. He meted out similar treatment to Darshan Nalkande and Yash Thakur in the following overs as Karnataka got the late acceleration.

Vidarbha fell in the pressure of the mounting required rate. Yash Rathod provided a brisk start, cracking five boundaries in 19 deliveries. Karun Nair failed to put up a similar show against his home state in the big game, getting cleaned up by Prasidh Krishna for 27.

The most productive of the partnerships came between Shorey and Jitesh Sharma for the fourth wicket, as the duo added 62 runs. However, when Jitesh holed out to the long on fielder in the 35th over, Vidarbha were left needing 157 runs in 91 balls.

Harsh Dubey offered the required impetus, hitting five sixes and as many boundaries in his 30-ball 63. But he didn't get adequate support from the other end. The pressure to hit the big shots ended up proving counter-productive for the rest and they were eventually cleaned up for 312.

Brief Scores:

• Karnataka: 348/6 in 50 overs (Smaran Ravichandran 101, Abhinav Manohar 79; Darshan Nalkande 2-67, Nachiket Bhute 2-68)
• Vidarbha: 312 in 48.2 overs (Dhruv Shorey 110, Harsh Dubey 63; V Koushik 3-47, Abhilash Shetty 3-58)
• Result: Karnataka won by 36 runs