Karnataka thrash Gujarat to face Kerala in semis

By NT Correspondent

Karnataka routed Gujarat 4-0 in the last group match of the Santosh Trophy at the Kottappadi Stadium in Malappuram on Monday. They will face hosts Kerala in the first semifinal on Thursday, while Manipur will face West Bengal in the other semifinal on Friday.

Having lost to Manipur on April 23, Karnataka’s chances of making it to the semis had taken a big hit. They have Odisha’s side to thank, which gave them the window of opportunity by losing their last match against Services by 0-2 earlier on Monday.

The math, leading into this final group B stage game was simple: Karnataka needed to win by a minimum three-goal margin. Karnataka pounced on the chance and defeated Gujarat in style to sneak i n t o t h e semis.

Karnat a k a t o o k on the challenge and produced an extraordinary first-half with their forward Sudheer Kotikela (12’, 29’) and Kamalesh P (28’) virtually sealing their chance inside the first halfan-hour. Right on the hour mark, a cross from D Arun Kumar on the left, dropped the ball perfectly for Magesh Selva to complete the tally.