Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018: Karnataka, Maharashtra enter semi-final with ease
Karnataka sailed into the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, courtesy an easy 103-run win over Hyderabad. Opener Mayank Agarwal continued his punishing form with a stroke-filled 140 from 111 deliveries, hitting 12 fours and 7 sixes in the process. He was perfectly aided by an equally entertaining knock of 125 from Ravikumar Samarth, who scored at just over a run a ball. The only fight from the opposition came from Mohammad Siraj, though his 5/59 could not stop Karnataka from posting a massive 347/8.
In reply, Hyderabad crumbled from the beginning with the entire top six failing to convert starts into big scores. The top scorer remained captain Ambati Rayudu with an attacking 64, while Ravi Teja contributed 53. But Hyderabad collapsed from 202/3 to 244 all out with leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal wrecking the middle-order with figures of 5/31 while Stuart Binny added three wickets to his name.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra overcame a highly rated Mumbai side comfortably after Mumbai could post only 222/9 in their quota of fifty overs. Pacer Pradeep Dadhe removed Prithvi Shaw and the in-form Siddhesh Lad cheaply, while left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav accounted for captain Aditya Tare. Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav added 47 before the former fell for 35, nicking Divyang Himganekar behind. But Yadav continued ticking over the scoreboard, adding 48 with Shams Mulani but was eventually dismissed for 69. Dadhe ended with 3/57 while off-spinner Prashant Kore bagged 2/34.
Maharashtra's chase was led by opener Shrikant Mundhe and captain Rahul Tripathi, who strung together 117 for the second wicket. Mundhe was run out for 70, an innings including 9 fours and a six. Tripathi fell off the very next ball for 49, but Ankit Bawne and Naushad Shaikh's unbeaten partnership of 89 took Maharasthra home, with Shaikh smashing 51* from 40 balls.
Brief Scores:
Karnataka 347/8 in 50 overs (Agarwal 140, Samarth 125; Siraj 5/59) beat Hyderabad 244 in 42.5 overs (A Rayudu 64; S Gopal 5/31, Binny 3/45) by 103 runs
Maharashtra 224/3 in 46.5 overs (Mundhe 70, Tripathi 49; S Malhotra 1/29) beat Mumbai 222/9 in 50 overs (S Yadav 69, Iyer 35; Dadhe 3/57) by 7 wickets