NEW DELHI: Smaran Ravichandran‘s stylish 92-ball 101 overshadowed Dhruv Shorey‘s third straight century as Karnataka clinched their fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a 36-run win over Vidarbha in a high-scoring final in Vadodara on Saturday.
The win in the summit clash helped Karnataka create history as they now have a five out of five record in VGT final.
Ravichandran masterful ton, combined with keeper-batter Krishnan Srijith’s 78 off 74 balls, laid the foundation for Karnataka’s commanding total. T20 star Abhinav Manohar’s blistering 79 off 42 provided the final flourish, propelling Karnataka to 348 for 6 in 50 overs.
Vidarbha, despite reaching the final undefeated in the group stage, struggled as most of their batters outside the top three failed to spend significant time at the crease.
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However, all-rounder Harsh Dubey’s explosive 63 off 30 balls, including five sixes and as many fours, gave the winners a scare before Vidarbha were all out for 312 in 48.2 overs.
Dhruv’s third consecutive hundred went in vain, as he scored a classy 110 without much support from the other end.
‘Player of the Tournament’ Karun Nair, who finished with 779 runs at an impressive average of 389.5, had a rare failure when he was dismissed by Prasidh Krishna for 27.
Shorey added 56 with Nair and another 62 with the seasoned Jitesh Sharma (34) but the boundaries dried up during the middle overs.
Medium pacer Vasuki Koushik (3/47) bowled within his limitations, pitching it up and keeping everything in line with the stumps, making it difficult for batters with less game time to maintain momentum.
Other Karnataka bowlers, including Prasidh (3/84) and left-arm Abhilash Shetty (3/58), bowled numerous short deliveries, which Shorey easily dispatched. Once Shetty got Shorey holed out trying to pull, it was curtains for Vidarbha, despite Dubey’s late flourish.
In the first innings, Smaran’s strong off-side play and his 140-run partnership off 122 balls with Srijith set the stage for Karnataka’s total.
Another century-plus stand with Manohar, where the latter was the dominant partner, took Karnataka close to the 350-mark, ultimately proving to be a match-winning total.
