Karnataka win big...but go down in U25 trophy

NT Correspondent

Having come within touching distance of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy last month, Karnataka were looking for a winning start in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. At KCA Cricket Ground, Mangalapuramthier, Namma boys crushed Pondicherry by 236 runs riding on R Samarth’s knock of 95 and J Suchith’s spell of 4 for 3.

With this win, K’taka get 4 points. Asked to bat first, Karnataka scored 289 in 50 overs and Pondicherry were bundled out for 53 in 17.3 overs.

Karnataka rode on a fine show of batting, thanks to quickfire half-centuries by skipper Manish Pandey (64) and Sharath Srinivas (55).

In reply, Pondicherry began the run chase on an ominous note and they were not up to the contest. Koushik V and Suchith J bowled at the right areas and took quick wickets. In the next group match, Karnataka will face mighty Tamil Nadu today at 9 am.

U25 trophy:

Bengaluru: Punjab stunned Karnataka in semifinal by 50 runs with inspirational performances from batters Vishwa Pratap Singh (120 of 128 balls) and Nehal Wadhera (106 of 94 balls) to storm into the final of Men’s U25 State One Day Trophy 2021-22 on Wednesday at Alur here. They will face Gujarat this Friday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Batting first, Punjab scored 317 in 50 overs. In reply, Karanataka failed to recover from the early blows to be bowled out for a modest 267 in 47.1 overs. Till this match, K’taka side was firing in unison and were consistent throughout the tournament and looking favorites to notch up the title. But they have themselves to blame. No one could score big like Punjab batters and be able to convert their good starts as they succumbed to pressure at nervy moments.