Brilliant centuries by Karnataka’s Robin Uthappa and Ishank Jaggi of Jharkhand marked the first semifinal of the Star Sports Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Friday.
At the end of a well-contested game, Man-of-the-Match Uthappa’s 133 (186m, 135b, 12x4, 4x6) was the one that counted as Karnataka marched into Sunday’s final, against Railways, with a 21-run victory.
Well compiled In terms of execution and the situation under which it was compiled, Jaggi’s 141 (179m, 121b, 16x4, 4x6) was better. More importantly it helped the East Zone champion make the contest exciting.
Jharkhand could have made it but for some lethargic fielding, poor running between the wickets and skipper Saurabh Tiwary’s ill-timed heave that ended his innings at 47. Had he stayed on, the burly left-hander could have won the game single-handedly.
Put into bat, Karnataka built on solid partnerships. With first wicket producing 137 runs and the second 128, Karnataka piled up 323 for six in 50 overs. In contrast, Jharkhand innings did not have a single three-figure stand.
Later, Railways, the winner of the trophy in 2005-06, shut the door on 2011-12 champion Bengal by five wickets.
Opting to take strike on a bald pitch, Bengal’s batting did not come good against some steady bowling and fold up for 185 in 47.4 overs.
Only Manoj Tiwary stood the test well with a well-compiled 61 (95b, 1x4).
Man-of-the-Match Amit Paunikar’s 83 (86b, 14x4) and Shivakant Shukla’s unbeaten 56 (88b, 5x4) was enough to put Railways on its way to a deserving victory.
Railways ended on 188 for five in 38.2 overs.
The scores: Karnataka 323 for six in 50 overs (R. Uthappa 133, M. Agarwal 66, L. Rahul 67; R. Shukla three for 59) bt Jharkhand 302 for nine in 50 overs (I. Jaggi 141, S. Tiwary 47, K. Deobrat 32; Vinay Kumar four for 75, A. Mithun three for 52).
Bengal 185 in 47.4 overs (S. Goswami 38, M. Tiwary 61, S. Mondal 28; C. Saini three for 25) lost to Railways 188 for five in 38.2 overs (A. Paunikar 83, S. Shukla 56 not out, V. Pratap Singh three for 54).
