A century by Robin Uthappa, followed by a four-wicket haul by captain Vinay Kumar, helped Karnataka reach the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. They will be gearing up to claim their third domestic title of the 2013-14 season on Sunday, March 16. Ishank Jaggi’s ton went in vain as Jharkhand were nudged out of the tournament. Here are the highlights of the day:
Karnataka vs Jharkhand: The Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup winners, Karnataka, beat Jharkhand by 21 runs in Kolkata to enter the final. Inserted to bat first, Karnataka were powered to a mammoth 323 for six by their in-form opener Uthappa. The opening pair of Uthappa and Mayank Agarwal laid the platform with a 137-run partnership which ended in a run out. Agarwal departed for 66, but the dismissal did not bring much relief to Jharkhand as Lokesh Rahul picked up where the opener had left. Uthappa went on to make 133 before being sent back by Jaskaran Singh in the 42nd over. 31 runs later, Lokesh Rahul was bowled for 67 by Rahul Shukla. In the next over, with Karnataka getting past the 300-run mark, Manish Pandey was sent back by Kushal Singh. While they piled on runs, Karnataka lost wickets in the death overs. In the last over, Karun Nair and captain Vinay Kumar were both sent back by Shukla.
A determined 121-ball 141 by opener Ishank Jaggi then kept Jharkhand in the fray even as the middle order crumbled against the rampaging Vinay Kumar-led attack. The Karnataka captain dealt a crucial double-blow when he removed Kaushal Singh and Shahbaz Nadeem in the same over to leave Jharkhand faltering on 260 for six. Chasing the large total, there was little support for Jaggi. However, Saurabh Tiwary supplemented the opener's magnificent knock with a 47 of his own before perishing to Abhimanyu Mithun soon after Jaggi’s departure. Jaggi was castled by HS Sharath a few overs before Tiwary returned to the pavilion. The lower-order made their way past 300, but were restricted to 302 for nine by the Karnataka attack. The captain finished with a four-for, while Mithun claimed three and Sharath and Abrar Kazi picked a wicket each.
