<p>An imperious batting line-up and an impeccable record make Karnataka the hot favourites when they meet Puducherry in their fourth Elite Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A fixture at the ADSA Railways Cricket Ground in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. </p>.<p>Karnataka have lost just one match in their last 13 VHT games and are on an eight-match unbeaten run, including a final in which they beat Karun Nair-led Vidarbha by 36 runs. </p>.<p>The defending champions would look to continue the good work in the ongoing competition and the focal point of their success has been the batting department, especially India international Devdutt Padikkal (293 runs), leading the parade with two hundreds, including a 147. </p>.87th Senior National Badminton Championships: Shikha-Ashwini are no fluke.<p>Last season's highest run-getter Karun has scored 176 runs at an average of 88 while Shreyas Gopal, who has been in tremendous form of late in red-ball cricket, is starting to look a lot like his Ranji Trophy-self, contributing with both bat and ball. </p>.<p>It is evident that Karnataka, who chased down targets in all three previous games, have looked immensely solid with contributions from their top-order, middle and lower-middle, highlighting their depth. </p>.<p>They chased down in excess of 400 against Jharkhand and romped home chasing 289 after being exposed to pressure at 94/3, with tournament centurions Padikkal and Karun making 39 runs in total. </p>.<p>While Karnataka have looked wobbly at times, especially with the ball in hand, they have not given their opponents – Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu – any chance to stamp authority, as they sit second in Group A with 12 points. </p>.<p>Karnataka (0.370) are only behind group-toppers Madhya Pradesh (1.017) on Net Run Rate (NRR). </p>.<p>Head coach Yere Goud’s side has also tried a few combinations, shuffling the debutants. All-rounder Dhruv Prabhakar played the first game while Hubli Tigers’ left-arm spinner Shreesha Achar featured in the next two matches. And much to Karnataka's delight, both have played vital roles in their respective appearances. </p>.<p>Pace bowling too held its own under the circumstances that are more batter-friendly. Karnataka have rotated Vyshak Vijayakumar, Vidwath Kaverappa and Prasidh Krishna in the three matches. Left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty has been prolific while young Vidyadhar Patil has been impressive. </p>.<p>Led by Chennai Super Kings’ latest auction recruit, Aman Khan, Puducherry have endured a tough campaign, losing all three matches by huge margins. While a defeat to Karnataka on paper looks inevitable, they will hope to put up a good fight. </p>
<p>An imperious batting line-up and an impeccable record make Karnataka the hot favourites when they meet Puducherry in their fourth Elite Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A fixture at the ADSA Railways Cricket Ground in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. </p>.<p>Karnataka have lost just one match in their last 13 VHT games and are on an eight-match unbeaten run, including a final in which they beat Karun Nair-led Vidarbha by 36 runs. </p>.<p>The defending champions would look to continue the good work in the ongoing competition and the focal point of their success has been the batting department, especially India international Devdutt Padikkal (293 runs), leading the parade with two hundreds, including a 147. </p>.87th Senior National Badminton Championships: Shikha-Ashwini are no fluke.<p>Last season's highest run-getter Karun has scored 176 runs at an average of 88 while Shreyas Gopal, who has been in tremendous form of late in red-ball cricket, is starting to look a lot like his Ranji Trophy-self, contributing with both bat and ball. </p>.<p>It is evident that Karnataka, who chased down targets in all three previous games, have looked immensely solid with contributions from their top-order, middle and lower-middle, highlighting their depth. </p>.<p>They chased down in excess of 400 against Jharkhand and romped home chasing 289 after being exposed to pressure at 94/3, with tournament centurions Padikkal and Karun making 39 runs in total. </p>.<p>While Karnataka have looked wobbly at times, especially with the ball in hand, they have not given their opponents – Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu – any chance to stamp authority, as they sit second in Group A with 12 points. </p>.<p>Karnataka (0.370) are only behind group-toppers Madhya Pradesh (1.017) on Net Run Rate (NRR). </p>.<p>Head coach Yere Goud’s side has also tried a few combinations, shuffling the debutants. All-rounder Dhruv Prabhakar played the first game while Hubli Tigers’ left-arm spinner Shreesha Achar featured in the next two matches. And much to Karnataka's delight, both have played vital roles in their respective appearances. </p>.<p>Pace bowling too held its own under the circumstances that are more batter-friendly. Karnataka have rotated Vyshak Vijayakumar, Vidwath Kaverappa and Prasidh Krishna in the three matches. Left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty has been prolific while young Vidyadhar Patil has been impressive. </p>.<p>Led by Chennai Super Kings’ latest auction recruit, Aman Khan, Puducherry have endured a tough campaign, losing all three matches by huge margins. While a defeat to Karnataka on paper looks inevitable, they will hope to put up a good fight. </p>