Devdutt Padikkal.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: For all the fight a depleted Mumbai showcased in phases, they were just not in the same league as defending champions Karnataka at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence Ground 1 here on Monday.
Devdutt Padikkal (81 not out, 95b, 11x4) and Karun Nair (74 not out, 80b, 11x4) anchored the chase to perfection after the hosts’ four-pronged pace attack was too hot to handle in cool and cloudy conditions as Karnataka charged into the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a commanding 55-run victory by VJD method after the game was called off prematurely due to bad light and rain.
Chasing 255, Padikkal’s outside edge got him two lucky boundaries off Onkar Tarmale (0/42) in the second over. He then drove Mohit Avasthi (1/24) down the ground and started to ooze confidence.
Padikkal then flicked Tarmale through mid-on while Mayank Agarwal (12, 24b) cautiously left balls outside off and picked up singles to keep the scoreboard ticking. However, he poked Avasthi to first slip and walked back in the 10th over. Padikkal got a few reprieves, first on 26 (Tarmale at fine leg) and then on 29 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi at slip), and unlike Raghuvanshi, he cashed in.
Padikkal pulled and flicked Sairaj Patil to pick up back-to-back boundaries, and then reached his 14th List A fifty in 64 balls. Nair looked in ominous touch as he drove Avasthi to the fence on his third ball. When Shams Mulani was introduced, Karun drifted onto the backfoot and pulled him over mid-wicket twice in two overs.
The 34-year-old soon brought up his 16th List A fifty off 44 balls in a knock that would please him after having scored just 24 runs in the last three matches. Padikkal and Nair also shared an unbeaten 143-run stand.
Earlier, Mumbai were hit by a massive blow before the game with Sarfaraz Khan out injured during practice and Tushar Deshpande flying back home due to an emergency.
In line with that, they played Ishan Mulchandani (20, 32b, 2x4), who looked solid and played out the quicks for singles and twos while looking for the odd boundary.
Vidyadhar Patil (3/42) finally broke the cautious partnership in the 12th over when Mulchandani failed to middle a pull shot, handing a catch to Padikkal at short third. Vidyadhar dealt another blow in the form of Musheer Khan (9, 7b, 1x6), giving Padikkal his second catch of the morning.
Raghuvanshi was lucky as he was dropped by Nair at first slip off Vidwath Kaverappa (2/43) on five. However, he failed to make full use as he was knocked over while trying to play the wrong line by Vyshak Vijaykumar (1/59). After a few dents, Mumbai’s innings was steadied by a fighting Shams Mulani (86, 91b, 8x4). The 28-year-old started steadily and found his range, notching up a third List A fifty.
Saurashtra through
Fuelled by a brilliant hundred by skipper Harvik Desai, Saurashtra defeated Uttar Pradesh by 17 runs (VJD method) at the BCCI’s CoE 2 here.
Desai (100 not out, 116b, 8x4, 2x6), who scored his second hundred in three games, helped Saurashtra stay in the hunt and just ahead as they were 238 for the loss of three wickets in 40.1 overs when the covers were brought on.
However, it was Chirag Jani (40 not out), who played the lead role in the unbeaten 76-run stand with Desai after Prerak Mankad (67) laid the platform.
Earlier, fifties from Abhishek Goswami (88) and Sameer Rizvi (88 not out) guided UP to 310/8 in 50 overs.