Karnataka 348 for 6 (Smaran 101, Manohar 79, Shrijith 78, Nalkande 2-67) beat Vidarbha 312 (Shorey 110, H Dubey 63, Koushik 3-47, Shetty 3-58) by 36 runs
In a high-scoring contest that produced over 650 runs and two superb hundreds from R Smaran and Dhruv Shorey, it was a 42-ball 79 from Abhinav Manohar that made the difference as Karnataka edged Vidarbha in a thriller to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Vadodara.
That it became a thriller was down to Harsh Dubey‘s 63 off 30 balls after Karun Nair‘s dream run in the tournament ended. Nair was dismissed for only the second time in eight innings in the tournament when Prasidh Krishna knocked him over for 27. Nair finished with a chart-topping 779 runs at an eye-popping average of 389.50.
Dubey built on Shorey’s third successive century, by hitting a 25-ball half-century lower down the order, to bring the equation down to 37 off 12 balls. In the end, Dubey ran out of partners and was the last man dismissed when he heaved left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty to deep midwicket as Karnataka sealed victory to break a five-year trophy drought.
The game was fought on an even keel for most parts. Karnataka, who were put in to bat, lost the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over, before KV Aneesh and Mayank Agarwal steadied the innings.
Seamer Nachiket Bhute then struck twice in two overs to remove both batters; Agarwal fell for 32 to finish the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 651 runs. At 67 for 3, Karnataka needed a rescue act, and two relatively inexperienced players stepped up.
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