Published: Mar 12, 2019, 05:57 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 12, 2019, 05:57 PM (IST)
The experienced duo of R Vinay Kumar and Manish Pandey starred as Karnataka beat Vidarbha at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore on Tuesday, registering their fourth consecutive win in Group B Super League, to march into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 final.
They face Maharashtra in the title clash on March 14 in Indore. (ALSO READ: Mumbai out of contention despite win over Uttar Pradesh)
Put in to bat, Vidarbha never really got going. While Atharva Taide scored 28, he was out run-out and Vinay Kumar’s two and Suchit’s one wicket, alongside his run-out of Vidarbha skipper Ganesh Satish, reduced this season’s Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup champions to forty-six for five.
Apoorv Wankhade and Akshay Karnewar then joined hands as the duo put up a 66-run stand before V Koushik dismissed Karnewar for 33. Wankhede, meanwhile, notched up a fifty and remained unbeaten on 56 off 41 balls to take Vidarbha to 138. (ALSO READ: Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019, Super League: Nikhil Naik, Samad Fallah power Maharashtra to final)
In chase, Karnataka lost Sharath BR early after Akshay Wakhare dismissed him for five. Mayank Agarwal could not score many and got out for 13. Rohan Kadam, who opened the innings, kept the scorecard ticking as he and Karun Nair put up 29-run stand before the former got out.
Skipper Manish Pandey then joined Nair in the middle as the two put up a 37-run stand. While Nair departed, Pandey, leading from the front, made sure that Karnataka cross the finish line with four balls to spare and six wickets in hand. Pandey scored an unbeaten 49 off 35 balls.
Brief scores: Karnataka 140/6 (Manish Pandey 49*, Rohan Kadam 39; Yash Thakur 1/18) beat Vidarbha 138/7 (Apoorv Wankhade 56*, Akshay Karnewar 33; R Vinay Kumar 2/27) by six wickets
