Rohan Prem, who scored a valiant hundred in an otherwise poor pursuit of a steep 318, was unable to prevent Kerala’s tame defeat — 213 all out — to Karnataka in the K.S. Subbaiah Pillai Trophy here on Sunday.
Earlier, Robin Uthappa laid the foundation for the home side’s win with a characteristic run-a-ball hundred at the Alur grounds. Karun Nair struck a late, rapid 60 to send the total rocketing upwards.
Kerala’s run chase never really developed the intensity that would threaten Karnataka. Only Prem offered any resistance as the batting crumbled around him.
Vinay scalps fiveThe 27-year-old completed his hundred off only 95 balls, but his dismissal in the 39th over signalled the end of Kerala’s resistance.
R. Vinay Kumar finished with five for 34, his best figures in List A cricket.
In the morning, Karnataka set off in a hurry after being invited to bat.
Uthappa remained in the same splendid form he has shown in the competition, tucking into the Kerala bowling. V.A. Jagadeesh was slog swept over midwicket and Prasanth Parameswaran dismissed beyond square-leg.
Mayank Agarwal (39) and K.L. Rahul (51) gave him company as the scoreboard kept ticking over at near six an over.
Uthappa raised his 12th List A hundred with a reverse sweep off Vinoop Manoharan, before falling to the same bowler for 104. Karnataka still had some 18 overs to play and it was Nair who would make the most impact in that period, hammering Kerala’s bowlers in a 35-ball-knock that included five fours and three tall sixes.
The host moved to 10 points with the win, staying in second place.
TN tightens gripAt the Aditya grounds, Tamil Nadu tightened its grip on top spot with a 125-run rout of Hyderabad.
Baba Aparajith and Murali Vijay scored a pair of nineties while L. Balaji took three for 27.
Andhra, meanwhile, posted its first win at the tournament after a sensational century from Ricky Bhui.
The 17-year-old made an unbeaten 103 (79b, 8x4, 6x6) as Andhra chased down Goa’s 268 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The scores:
Karnataka 317 for five in 50 overs (Robin Uthappa 104, Karun Nair 60, K.L. Rahul 51, Mayank Agarwal 39, Manish Pandey 39) bt Kerala 213 (Rohan Prem103, Robert Fernandes 32, R. Vinay Kumar five for 34).
Tamil Nadu 280 for four in 45 overs (Baba Aparajith 91, Murali Vijay 90, Vijay Shankar 31 n.o., S. Anirudha 29 n.o.) bt Hyderabad 155 for nine in 35.5 overs (Akshat Reddy 42, Ashish Reddy 40 n.o., L. Balaji three for 27).
Goa 268 for six in 50 overs (S.K. Kamat 65, H.H. Gadekar 61, Rahul Keni 43, Amit Yadav 40 n.o., K.A. Vaz 29) lost to Andhra 272 for six in 48.4 overs (Ricky Bhui 103 n.o., P.K. Darabenjamen 90, S.B. Dasari 27 n.o., Amit Yadav three for 45).
The points tally after three rounds:
Tamil Nadu 12 points, Karnataka 10, Hyderabad 6, Kerala 4, Andhra 4, Goa 0.
