Vijay Hazare Trophy: Pandey's Unbeaten Ton, Rahul's Breezy 50 Help Karnataka Secure 79-win Over Chhattisgarh

Put into bat first at M Chinnaswamy stadium, Karnataka set up an imposing total on the back of Rahul's 81 run knock and skipper Pandey's unbeaten 142. The Karnataka bowlers then came to the fore by bundling out Chhattisgarh for 206 runs in 44 overs.

Skipper Manish Pandey and seasoned Indian campaigner  K L Rahul led the batting effort in Karnataka's 79-run wins over Chhattisgarh in their Elite Group A match of the Vijay Hazare trophy on Wednesday. Put into bat first at M Chinnaswamy stadium, Karnataka set up an imposing total on the back of Rahul's 81 run knock and skipper Pandey's unbeaten 142. The Karnataka bowlers then came to the fore by bundling out Chhattisgarh for 206 runs in 44 overs. While new ball bowlers M Prasidh Krishana (3-31) and Ronit More (2-52) ran through the top order, spinner Shreyas Gopal (3-53) spun his web around Chhattisgarh batsmen, as their chase never really took off. For Chhattisgarh, Amandeep Khare fought a lone battle with 43 out of 62 balls. Karnataka lost opener Devdutt Padikkal (8) and Karun Nair (1) quickly. But Rahul and Pandey had other plans, as they conjured up a solid 150-run stand for the third wicket. Rahul, who was dropped from the Indian Test team against South Africa, made a statement of sorts to the national selectors. Pandey blasted a quick-fire 142 off just 118 balls, which included five fours and seven sixes. While wickets kept falling at the other end, Pandey kept playing his shots and it was because of his incredible knock that Karnataka crossed the 280-run mark. He hit six fours and a lone six in his patient 103- ball knock, as he played second fiddle to Pandey. For Chhattisgarh, pacer Pankaj Rao (2-60) and Shashank Singh (2-66) took two wickets each.