A brilliant century from opener Aman Mokhade powered Vidarbha to a six-wicket win over Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final, avenging last year’s final defeat. Vidarbha chased down Karnataka’s 280 with 22 balls to spare, thanks to a well-paced batting performance in the latter half of the innings.
Vidarbha got off to a shaky start as Atharva Taide fell early for 6, while Mokhade struggled in the powerplay, scoring just 10 off 26 balls. Dhruv Shorey provided some stability, helping the team reach 32/1 after 10 overs. Mokhade eventually found his rhythm, hitting a six off Vyshak Vijaykumar and a boundary off Shreyas Gopal en route to his fifty.
Former Karnataka batter Ravikumar Samarth proved to be the perfect partner, and the duo steadily grew in confidence. Mokhade completed his century in the 35th over and continued to dominate before falling for 138. Samarth’s unbeaten 76 ensured Vidarbha maintained control and sealed the win.
Earlier, Karnataka’s innings was highlighted by Karun Nair (76) and Krishnan Shrijith (54), who stitched together a century partnership to stabilize the innings after early losses. However, Darshan Nalkande’s five-wicket haul and timely breakthroughs in the middle overs derailed Karnataka’s momentum, allowing Vidarbha to chase the target comfortably.
Brief Scores:
- Karnataka: 280 in 49.4 overs (Karun Nair 76, Krishnan Shrijith 54; Darshan Nalkande 5/48)
- Vidarbha: 284/4 in 46.2 overs (Aman Mokhade 138, Ravikumar Samarth 76*; Abhilash Shetty 3/48)
- Result: Vidarbha won by 6 wickets
Vidarbha will now face the winner of the other semi-final in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final.
