BENGALURU: Karnataka know a thing or two about winning titles when it comes to the Vijay Hazare Trophy. After reaching their first final in the 2013-14 season, they had won it thrice in the last six years. The tally became four out of seven on Friday, with a 60-run win against Tamil Nadu following the VJD method in the final at Chinnaswamy Stadium. The match was billed to be a close contest between two southern teams, with quality batsmen in their ranks.
Both finalists had dominated the attacks of the opposition on their way to the summit clash. However, a hat-trick from Abhimanyu Mithun (5/34) on his birthday and a sparkling half-century from Mayank Agarwal made it a no-contest. Tamil Nadu lost steam and initiative from a strong position to post a modest 252 in 49.5 overs. Karnataka were cruising at 146/1 after 23 overs when play was stopped because of rain and bad light. Agarwal’s contribution was an unbeaten 69 off 55 balls, with seven fours and three sixes. Baba Aparajith getting run out in the 38th over proved crucial and the Karnataka bowlers led by Mithun didn’t allow Tamil Nadu gain the upper hand again.
“I didn’t know (at that time) I had taken a hat-trick,” said Mithun. “I knew I had to give my best because it’s a final. Prasidh Krishna wasn’t there, so as a senior I had to take responsibility and do well.”After being reduced to 24/2, Abhinav Mukund and Aparajith had steadied Tamil Nadu with a 124-run third wicket partnership. Just when the duo started scoring briskly, the left-hander’s dismissal led to a collapse. Despite runs from Vijay Shankar (38), Tamil Nadu lost the last seven wickets for 74 runs. They had found someone or the other in the lower-middle order during the group stages to dig them out of trouble, but it did not happen in the final.
“Had I not got out, the score could have been 280 or 290. We could have pushed the barrier. Unluckily, I got out, Shahrukh Khan (27) did his bit, but it was not enough. I thought 250 was a good score, but Karnataka batted sensibly and that is a sign of a good team. They played better than us today,” said Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik, who managed just 11 runs on Friday.
Early dismissal of the in-form Devdutt Padikkal gave Tamil Nadu hope, but that was soon extinguished by Agarwal. The right-hander appeared to be batting on a different surface compared to rest. Most of his boundaries were through the covers and he was a joy to watch. KL Rahul did his bit although he was overshadowed by his friend.
“When an India cricketer (Agarwal) does so well against top bowlers of South Africa, and he plays at this level, it looks far easier than what it is actually happening. A lot of credit to him. He kept us at bay. Whatever was thrown at him, he had answers for it,” added Karthik.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 252 in 49.5 ovs (Abhinav 85, Aparajith 66, Vijay Shankar 38, Mithun 5/34) lost to Karnataka 146/1 in 23 ovs (Mayank 69 n.o, Rahul 52 n.o) on VJD method by 60 runs.
Player Of The Series: Abhimanyu Mithun