Opener KL Rahul (104 not out, 6x4, 3x6, 152b) guided South Zone champions Karnataka to a seven-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh in the pre-quarterfinals of the All India Vijay Hazare one-day tournament at ACA-VDCA stadium on Tuesday.
In the second match at Port Stadium, East Zone winners Assam registered a four-wicket win over Madhya Pradesh to move into the quarterfinals along with Karnataka. Put into bat, the Suresh Raina-led UP were bowled out for 194 in 45.2 overs. Seasoned campaigner Mohd Kaif hit a 58-ball 37, but Raina fell cheaply, snapped behind off left-arm spinner KP Appanna for 13.
Chasing a modest target, Karnataka had an early jolt when in-form Robin Uthappa was dismissed for 12, falling leg before to Imitiaz Ahmad. However, Rahul and Ganesh Satish (53)stitched 119 for the second wicket to help the team win.
Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 194 in 45.2 overs (Mohd Kaif 37, AD Nath 29; SS Shivalingaiah 3 for 46; KP Appanna 2 for 42) lost to Karnataka 197 for 3 in 47.3 overs (KL Rahul 104 no; Ganesh Satish 53; Imitiaz Ahmad 2 for 52). Madhya Pradesh 210 in 48.4 overs (Naman Ojha 74, Udit A Birla 72, Rameez Khan 27; Abu Nechim Ahmad 5 for 32, Arup Das 3 for 45, Pritam Das 2 for 35) lost to Assam 211 for 6 in 45.5 overs (Sib Shankar Roy 97 no, Ishwar Pandey 2 for 36, Jalaj Saxena 2 for 36).