Karnataka beat Saurashtra by 42 runs in Vijay Hazare Trophy final

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 27, 2018: Karnataka beat Saurashtra by 41 runs to clinch their third Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Tuesday. It was Karnataka’s first title in three years.

At the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Mayank Agarwal’s 90 (79b, 11x4, 3x6) and quality knocks from R Samarth (48, 65b, 1x4, 1x6) and Pavan Deshpande (49, 60b, 4x4, 1x6) took Karnataka to a fighting total of 253 all out in 45.5 overs.

On a challenging pitch for batsmen, the task wasn’t easy for Saurashtra batsmen and they came a cropper to be bundled out for 212 in 46.3 overs. Cheteshwar Pujara (94, 127b, 10x4, 1x6) essayed a lone battle but it wasn’t enough for Saurashtra to cross the finish line.

Prasidh Krishna (3/37) and K Gowtham (3/27) bagged wickets at crucial junctures to fashion a fine victory.

Mayank Agarwal receiving the Man of the Match trophy said, "It’s been crazy season, that’s all I have to say. Very grateful to God and my team-mates. I want to thank them, and the selectors who backed me during the bad times. I am quite happy. Of all the people, I won’t complain about the pitch (laughs). As the game progressed, the wicket started turning and got a bit slower too. Looking forward to the Deodhar Trophy but we’re very happy to win this tournament. We’ll take it as it comes."

Captain of the Karnataka team Karun Nair said "Very thrilled to win the first trophy under my captaincy. Thanks to team-mates and the management. We fought as a team. We have played really well through the season, it’s just that the Ranji’s and T20s we slipped up in one-odd match, so we were really pumped to win this tournament. Mayank’s efforts are pretty amazing - every time he went out to bat, we felt that he’d score many runs. Just want to wish him all the best. Getting youngers like Prasidh a chance was part of our plan. High time they got a chance, because we wanted to give them experience for the time of transition if seniors leave in the future."