SMAT 2021: Karnataka's journey to the final
Karnataka have made the challenging journey to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2021) look easy so far. However, things will be different as they gear up to face defending champions Tamil Nadu at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday (November 22).
Manish Pandey's side have won seven of their eight matches (including the semifinals) in a scintillating display of grit and composure throughout the tournament. Some wins have been clinical, some have been lucky, and some were absolute humdingers. Ahead of their all-important clash, we take a quick recap of their SMAT run so far.
Karnataka's toughest SMAT 2021 wins came against Bengal, Vidarbha
Karnataka's quarterfinal clash was against Bengal at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where the match went down to the wire. Manish Pandey's direct hit to run Aksashdeep Singh out on the very last ball meant the scores were tied, and the game went to a super over.
Put into bat, Karnataka rode on Karun Nair's blistering 55 and contributions from Pandey (29) and Rohan Kadam (30) to set a modest 161-run target. Bengal stayed in the chase after Writtick Chatterjee (51) came in at No. 3 to set the tone and Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (36* off 18) kept the side homing in for a win. Akashdeep Singh tried to steal a single off the last ball only to nudge the ball straight to Pandey at cover, who snatched it up and nailed the throw.
The super over, bowled by KC Cariappa, yielded just five runs for Bengal. Pandey then smoked a six to take his side to the finals.
Congratulations to our Karnataka team on making it to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, after beating Vidarbha by 4️⃣ runs in the semi-final yesterday in Delhi. 🙌🏻👏🏻
We’ll be rooting for you tomorrow! All the best, boys. 👊🏼
#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #SMAT https://t.co/CQgBPCFz50
The semifinals saw Karnataka take on Vidarbha, who had notched up some impressive wins until that point. Vidarbha's middle order kept their team's hopes of making the final alive, only for Karnataka's inexperienced bowling attack to pull things back in their favor.
Put into bat again, Pandey (54 off 42) and Rohan Kadam (87 off 56) made sure Karnataka were set for a great total. However, seamer Darshan Nalkande had other ideas, bagging a hat-trick and one to restrict them to 176 for 7.
What worked in Karnataka's favor was their frequent chipping away at wickets. Apoorv Wankhade (27) and Akshay Karnewar (22) ensured that Vidarbha stayed close to the finish line, but Karnataka bowler Vidyadhar Patil defended 13 in the last over to lead his team to the finals of SMAT 2021.
A quick look at Karnataka's league stage record
Top three batters for Karnataka in SMAT 2021 so far
Top three bowlers for Karnataka in SMAT 2021 so far