New Delhi: Brilliant knock of 94 from Saurashtra skipper Cheteshwar Pujara went in vain as rampant Karnataka clinched their third Vijay Hazare Trophy in Delhi on Tuesday. Karnataka registered a 41-run win in the finals riding on opener Mayank Agarwal’s blistering knock of 90 off 79 balls.
After winning the toss Karnataka opted to bat first. Team started on a poor note as the side got reduced to five for 2, losing both captain Karun Nair and India opener KL Rahul for zero. Post the set-back, Mayank played a mature knock and along with middle-order batsman Ravikumar Samarth (48) steadied the Karnataka’s ship with a partnership of 136 runs. After Samrath, Agarwal teamed up with Pavan Deshpande (49 off 60 balls) stitching a crucial partnership of 41 runs. After Mayank got out caught at long-off, falling just 10 runs short of a well-deserved ton, the tail collapsed and the team got bundled out on 253 in 45.5 overs. Off-spinner Kamlesh Makvana who was the most successful bowler for Saurashtra ended up with 4 wickets.
Chasing a tricky total, Saurashtra too were reduced to 77 for 3 after 18 overs. Saurashrta skipper Cheteshwar Pujara tried to fight back with a gritty 94 but ran out of partners at the other end. After the top order collapse, middle-order too failed miserably on the biggest stage. Saurashtra lost their the final seven wickets for 111 runs handing an easy 41-runs victory to the unbeatable side. Prasidh Krishna and Krishnappa Gowtham starred with the ball grabbing three wickets each.
Mayank Agarwal who has been in form of his life this domestic season was awarded Man of the Match for his brilliant knock of 90 in the finals.
Following the win, Karnataka pacer Sreenath Arvind also announced his retirement from first-class and list-A cricket.
Brief scores
Karnataka 253/10 (Mayank Agarwal 90, Pavan Deshpande 49; Kamlesh Makvana 4/32)
Saurashtra 212/10 (Cheteshwar Pujara 94; Krishnappa Gowtham 3/27).