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Thank you for joining us- Mohul Bhowmick, Srivathsa Vennelaganti and Divyansh Manchandia- for this rather lopsided encounter between Karnataka and Saurashtra in the semifinal of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for live updates on cricket and all other sports from across the globe!
Saurashtra got off to the worst start possible, losing their openers Harvik Desai and Sheldon Jackson for ducks with no runs on the board. Karnataka’s new ball opening partners Vasuki Koushik and Vidwath Kaverappa combined to wreck damage on the Saurashtra batting lineup, but unfortunately, they could not quite keep the pressure up till the end.
In fact, before the first ten overs of the innings got done, they had resorted to bowling in wide areas and that allowed the Saurashtra batters to free their arms. The star of the show for Saurashtra today was undoubtedly 21-year-old Jay Gohil, who stepped to one of the biggest stages of Indian domestic cricket with a calculated and composed half-century in only his second List A appearance.
When he eventually departed, he had brought his side very close to the target they were chasing, and only 34 runs were needed. Gohil would have loved to be there til the end and see his side home, but he was undone by a brilliant piece of bowling by Krishnappa Gowtham and wicketkeeping by BR Sharath. Arpit Vasavada and Samarth Vyas both lent helping hands to the young Gohil, but it was he who stole the show.
Karnataka will be rather displeased with this performance of theirs, coming as it did after such a brilliant showing against Punjab in the quarterfinal at the same venue a couple of days ago. Their batters will have to reassess their game plans and question themselves regarding their shot selections.
Skipper Mayank Agarwal and senior batter Manish Pandey will come in for a lot of scrutiny, given that they have failed to deliver on such a big stage. Dare I say, there will be a lot of questioning taking place in the KSCA after this dismal performance of the team with the bat. Youngster Nikin Jose has been the sole light in this team along with Ravikumar Samarth who put up a fine performance today and missed his century by a mere twelve runs, but the latter’s approach towards the latter half of the innings will be thoroughly examined.
It appeared as if at that time, Samarth was playing only to get to his century and not showing any intent to take Karnataka to a decent total. This defeat will hurt domestic heavyweights Karnataka but propel Saurashtra with a lot of confidence to take to the final where they will take on either Maharashtra or Assam.
36.2 K Gowtham to Arpit Vasavada, FOUR! Saurashtra ease into the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Vasavada comes down and finishes it off. Knows mid-on is inside and lofts over and wide of that man
36.1 K Gowtham to Arpit Vasavada, full on middle, pushed to cover
Oh my! The four off the last ball of this over really sums up Karnataka's day. Not a lot has gone right for them. They will feel very disappointed with their performance. Just four runs needed to win.
36
overs
168/5score
1
4
1
1
0
4
runs
Arpit Vasavada
21(27)
Chirag Jani*
13(16)
Shreyas Gopal
1/46
35.6 Shreyas Gopal to Chirag Jani, FOUR! Jani gets lucky, did not know much about this googly, was shaping to leave but the ball takes the toe-end of the bat and wide of slip. Runs away
35.5 Shreyas Gopal to Chirag Jani, slower and fuller outside off, pushed back to the bowler
35.4 Shreyas Gopal to Arpit Vasavada, tossed up on the pads, swept to fine-leg for one
35.3 Shreyas Gopal to Chirag Jani, short and wide outside off, cut to the sweeper for one
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Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Arpit Vasavada
Shreyas Gopal
Video
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