Karnataka’s stately march in the K.S. Subbaiah Pillai Trophy South Zone limited-overs tournament continued unabated as its openers Robin Uthappa and K.L. Rahul posted emphatic centuries to pave the way for another resounding victory — the team’s fourth on the trot — at Hyderabad’s expense.
In the other set of games, Kerala stunned Tamil Nadu by five wickets at Margao and Andhra registered a facile 170-run victory over Goa at Vasco.
The win has nudged Karnataka to 16 points atop the table but with Andhra (13) and Kerala (13) trailing closely behind, the crucial top-two slots will be decided only after Wednesday’s matches.
After posting 305 for nine, Karnataka bowled out Hyderabad for 258 in 46.4 overs at the picturesque GCA Academy Ground here on Monday. The chase entirely hinged on Hanuma Vihari (84) and skipper B. Sandeep (72) and when the two added 140 runs for the third-wicket, Hyderabad was in with a chance.
However the Batting Power Play undid their efforts as the two departed while S.L. Akshay, playing instead of an injured Abhimanyu Mithun, excelled with the ball (four for 50) and Manish Pandey the fielder (three catches) reigned supreme.
Big stand
Earlier, Uthappa (103, 108b, 10x4) and Rahul (110, 107b, 9x4) shared a 206-run partnership spread over 203 deliveries that should have ideally propelled Stuart Binny’s men to an even bigger score but the rest, with the exception of Pandey (42), caved in.
The openers handled the seamers M.P. Arjun, C.V. Milind and Ashish Reddy with ease as Uthappa on-drove and Rahul unerringly pulled to unsettle the opposition.
Lone ripple
The lone ripple that enthused Hyderabad was when Milind pinged Uthappa’s helmet but normal service resumed as the bowler was cover-driven by the aggrieved batsman.
At the other end, Rahul mixed neat shots with impetuous ones like the reverse sweep of Amol Shinde and it was just a matter of time before the opener and his senior partner etched their respective tons. Both fell in trying to force the pace but by then they had ensured that Hyderabad would play second-fiddle.
In the Tamil Nadu-Kerala match, skipper Dinesh Karthik (73) again did the hard yards for Tamil Nadu but Sanju Viswanath’s unbeaten 85 sealed the match in Kerala’s favour.
For Andhra, K.S. Bharat (125) set a dominant note and Goa capitulated.
Tuesday is a rest day.
The scores:
At Porvorim: Karnataka 305 for nine in 50 overs (K.L. Rahul 110, Robin Uthappa 103, Manish Pandey 42, Ashish Reddy three for 88) bt Hyderabad 258 in 46.4 overs (Hanuma Vihari 84, B. Sandeep 72, S.L. Akshay four for 50, Stuart Binny four for 56). Karnataka 4 pts, Hyderabad 0 .
At Vasco: Andhra 261 for six in 50 overs (K.S. Bharat 125, B. Sumanth 45, D.B. Prashant Kumar 37) bt Goa 91 in 25.4 overs (B. Sudhakar three for 10, K.S. Shahabuddin three for 16). Andhra 5, Goa minus 1 .
At Margao: Tamil Nadu 257 for seven in 47 overs (Dinesh Karthik 73, Yo Mahesh 40 n.o., Vijay Shankar 29, S. Badrinath 28) lost to Kerala 258 for five in 46.3 overs (Sanju Viswanath 85 n.o., Sachin Baby 61, V.A. Jagadeesh 35, K.J. Rakesh 32, Rahil Shah four for 52). Kerala 4, Tamil Nadu 0 .
