Karnataka clinch fourth title

Bengaluru, October 25

Abhimanyu Mithun took a hat-trick, while Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul starred with the bat as Karnataka won their fourth Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a 60-run win (VJD method) over Tamil Nadu in the rain-hit final here today.

After the hosts elected to field under overcast conditions, Karnataka’s Mithun-led bowling attack restricted Tamil Nadu to 252 in 49.5 overs despite half-centuries from opener Abhinav Mukund and Baba Aparajith.

Mithun returned with his first five-wicket haul in List A games, which included a hat-trick in the final over of the innings. He cleaned up M Shahrukh Khan, M Mohammed and Murugan Ashwin to become the first player from Karnataka to take a hat-trick in the competition. Wicketkeeper Rahul remained in the thick of things, contributing in the dismissals of four Tamil Nadu batsmen.

Rahul then shed the wicketkeeper’s gloves and provided Karnataka a fast start with the bat. After losing his opening partner Devdutt Paddikal, Rahul took up a more conservative role while No. 3 Mayank Agarwal became the aggressor. The duo added 112 runs for the second wicket before the hosts’ chase was halted by rain. At 146/1 after 23 overs, Karnataka were well ahead of the VJD par score of 86.

“We are very happy with the results. The mindset of the boys is they want to win every match they play. Hopefully we will continue doing well,” Karnataka captain Manish Pandey said.

Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik too expressed happiness for the way they played throughout the tournament. “I think we played terrific cricket, one bad day doesn’t make a bad team. This should give confidence going into the T20s and the Ranji Trophy,” Karthik said.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu: 252 (Abhinav Mukund 85, Baba Aparajith 66; Mithun 5/34, V Koushik 2/39); 

Karnataka: 146/1 (Agarwal 69*, Rahul 52*) — PTI