Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019: A recap of Karnataka’s journey to the final

Karnataka outplayed Chhattisgarh in all departments of the game as they defeated the Harpreet Singh-led side by 9 wickets in a one-sided affair. Karnataka dominated their way into the semi-final with some impressive performances in the group stage of the tournament. The 18th edition of ongoing Vijay Hazare started last month in Dehradun when Nagaland took on Manipur in a rain-affected abandoned game. Karnataka will now go up against Tamil Nadu for the title clash on October 25 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

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Karnataka – A road to the final

Karnataka topped the Elite Group A and B points table with seven victories in their eight matches. The Manish Pandey-led side defeated Jharkhand to register their first win in the tournament. In a one-sided game, Karnataka batted first and posted 285-9 only to dismiss Jharkhand for 162 to gain a huge-123 run win. Riding on KL Rahul’s impressive 131 at the top of the order, Karnataka then defeated Kerala by 60 runs. After victories over Jharkhand and Kerala, Karnataka then lost to Hyderabad to register their first and only defeat in the ongoing edition so far.

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A defeat to Hyderabad proved to be a wake-up call as Karnataka then registered back-to-back victories over Chhattisgarh, Andhra, Mumbai, Saurashtra, Goa and Puducherry. Their six-game winning streak continued with another dominating performance in the first semi-final clash against Chhattisgarh.

Batting first, Chhattisgarh were all-out for 223 before their quota of 50 overs. Karnataka’s run-chase got off to flying start as both batsmen registered their respective List A half-centuries. Devdutt Padikkal scored a breath-taking 92 at the top of the order before he was castled by Ajay Mandal. The opening batsmen combined to form a 155-run partnership before Padikkal’s dismissal. Indian Test specialist Mayank Agarwal then joined KL Rahul to the crease and scored an unbeaten 47 from just 33 balls. KL Rahul himself scored a fluent 88 not out to see his side to victory in 40 overs.

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Karnataka will now be looking to maintain their winning momentum going into the final as they will face the only unbeaten side in the tournament. The 2017-18 winners will now be chasing their fourth Vijay Hazare title on October 25 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

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