Karnataka edged Kerala by 20 runs in their final South Zone group game to qualify for the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Championship on Sunday.
Mayank Agarwal's 58-ball 86 (9x4, 3x6) and his 85-run stand with R Samarth helped Karnataka post 181/6 in 20 overs after skipper R Vinay Kumar put his side to bat at Vizianagarm.
In response, Kerala got off to a fantastic start and raced to 54 for no loss in five overs. Sanju Samson (71) did bulk of the scoring and at 112/1 after 10 overs, Kerala looked set for a comfortable win. However, the ever-reliable Vinay dismissed Samson in the first ball of the 13th over and Kerala suffered a horrific collapse. Leg-spinner Praveen Dubey (3/35) proved to be effective again as he stopped the run flow by bagging the crucial wickets of Arun Karthick (13) and Vishnu Vinod (46).
Karnataka, who registered four wins from five games, finished with 16 points and topped the South Zone leg with a better net run-rate (1.354). Tamil Nadu, who defeated Hyderabad by 16 runs at the ACA-VDCA stadium, ended second on table with 16 points and were the second team to progress.
Sent in to bat, Tamil Nadu rode on quick-fire knocks by skipper Vijay Shankar (40, 16b, 2x4, 4x6) and R Sanjay Yadav 42 (28b, 2x4, 3x6) to put up 193/7 in 20 overs. In response, Andhra looked in control when captain Rayudu (53, 34b, 1x4, 4x6) and Tanmay Agarwal (59, 39b, 5x4, 2x6) were at the crease. The former, in particular, was severe on leggie M Ashwin and smacked him for two big sixers in one over. Agarwal's exit sparked a collapse as the team slid from 125/2 to 141/7 in the space of four overs as M S Washington Sundar took three of the wickets to fall.
The Super League begins in Kolkata from January 21.
Brief scores: At Vizianagaram: Karnataka 181/6 in 20 overs (Mayank Agarwal 86, R Samarth 27; K M Asif 2/34) bt Kerala: 161 all out in 19.2 overs (Sanju Samson 71, Vishnu Vinod 46; Pravin Dubey 3-35). Points: Karnataka: 4; Kerala: 0.
Tamil Nadu: 193/7 in 20 overs (R Sanjay Yadav 42, Vijay Shankar 40; Mehdi Hasan 3/40) bt Hyderabad: 177/8 in 20 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 59, Ambati Rayudu 53; M S Washington Sundar 3/29, Athisayaraj Davidson 2/24). TN: 4; Hyderabad: 0.
Andhra Pradesh: 201/4 in 20 overs (Ricky Bhui 65, G H Vihari 57, Ashwin Hebbar 52) bt Goa: 183/6 in 20 overs (Swapnil Asnodkar 72, Sagun Kamat 43; Bhargav Bhatt 2/30). Andhra: 4; Goa: 0.
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