Vidarbha beat Karnataka to enter Vijay Hazare final

Aman Mokhade gave himself and Vidarbha the perfect pre-birthday present with a match-winning century as they defeated defending champions Karnataka to reach their second consecutive Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Vidarbha will face the winner of Saurashtra versus Punjab in Sunday’s final in Bengaluru.

Mokhade anchored Vidarbha’s chase of 281 from start to finish, scoring 138 runs, his fifth List A century of the season, and surpassing Devdutt Padikkal’s 725 runs to become the leading run-getter in the competition. By the time he was dismissed while attempting a slash over point, Vidarbha were within 27 runs of victory. R Samarth then hit the winning runs with a stylish on-drive, finishing 76 not out, as Vidarbha claimed the target with 22 balls to spare.

Mokhade’s innings had two phases. He initially dug in against the new-ball burst, aware that dew could aid scoring later. After the 30-over mark, with eight wickets in hand and the required run rate nearing seven an over, run-scoring became



easier.

On 96, Mokhade offered a half-chance when a top-edged pull landed between Karun Nair and Abhinav Manohar, narrowly avoiding a collision. Two balls later, he played a leg glance to the boundary for his century. Mokhade celebrated by thumping his bat on the turf and placing his helmet on the handle to applause from the Vidarbha dugout.

At the other end, Samarth contributed a measured half-century in a 147-run third-wicket stand with Mokhade. 

Karnataka, batting first, lost openers Mayank Agarwal and Padikkal early. Padikkal struggled against Yash Thakur, taking 18 deliveries to score before nicking off. Nair and Dhruv Prabhakar added 54, while Shrijith and Nair shared a century stand. Darshan Nalkande finished with 5 for 48, and Vyshak Vijaykumar left the field due to a delayed concussion, replaced by Manvanth Kumar.

Dew negated Shreyas Gopal’s legspin, who conceded 55 runs in eight wicketless overs. Mokhade’s performance ensured Vidarbha were within a win of their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy.