Vijay Hazare Trophy: Karnataka beat Mumbai by 55 runs to enter semis

Karnataka beat Mumbai by 55 runs (VJD method) to enter the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-finals. Chasing 255, an unbeaten stand between Devdutt Padikkal (81*) and Karun Nair (74*) saw Karnataka at 187/1 when rain halted the match in Bengaluru.

Karnataka stormed into the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy after registering a comprehensive 55-run victory over Mumbai via the VJD method in a rain-affected quarter-final clash. Chasing a target of 255, Karnataka were well in control of the contest before rain and bad light brought an early end to their innings. At the time of interruption, they were cruising at 187/1 in 33 overs, comfortably ahead of the required rate, which eventually sealed their place in the last four.

Padikkal and Nair Lead Dominant Chase

Devdutt Padikkal missed a hundred, as he remained unbeaten on 81 off 95 balls, with eleven boundaries. He found excellent support in Karun Nair, who remained not out on 74 off 80 deliveries, also striking 11 boundaries in a fluent knock.

The Padikkal-Nair partnership ensured that Karnataka never looked under threat during the chase, and kept Mumbai's bowlers under pressure. Karnataka lost one wicket in the innings, that of captain Mayank Agarwal, who scored 12 before being dismissed by Mohit Avasthi.

Clinical Bowling Restricts Mumbai

Earlier, Karnataka's bowling unit delivered a clinical performance as they restricted the Mumbai side to what appears to be a manageable total on the board.

After winning the toss and electing to field at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Karnataka's pace attack led by Vidyadhar Patil (3/42 in 10 overs) dismantled Mumbai's top order, reducing them to 60/4 within 18 overs. Patil was particularly devastating with the new ball, dismissing both Ishan Mulchandani and the dangerous Musheer Khan to set a dominant tone for the innings.

Despite getting a decent-looking start, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (27 runs) and Ishan Mulchandani (20 runs) compiling 36 runs for the first-wicket stand, Mumbai lost their way as they lost both the openers, Musheer Khan (9 runs) and Hardik Tamore (1 run) in quick succession. While Vyshak claimed Raghuvanshi's wicket, Vidhwath Kaverappa (2/43 in 10 overs) got rid of Tamore for Karnataka.

Mulani's Fighting Knock

Shams Mulani (86) and captain Siddhesh Lad (38) tried reviving the Mumbai innings as they joined hands to stitch a 76-run partnership but Karnataka's Abhilash Shetty (2/59 in 10 overs) broke the stand, rendering the visitors' score 136/5 in 33.3 overs.

Karnataka's bowlers continued to maintain a disciplined line and length, rarely offering Mumbai's batters any scoring opportunities. While Mulani held one end of the crease for Mumbai, the other batters could not play much of a hand to support him. Sairaj Patil (33 runs) joined hands with Mulani for a 52-run stand to help Mumbai reach 254/8 in 50 overs.

Road to the Quarter-final

While Karnataka came into the quarter-final against Mumbai on the back of a seven-wicket loss to Madhya Pradesh in their last Group A match, Mumbai faced a one-run defeat at the hands of Punjab in a nail-biter in their last Group C fixture.

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