Karnataka secured a convincing five-wicket victory over Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara, booking their place in the final for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Led by a stellar performance from Devdutt Padikkal, who continued his remarkable run in the tournament, Karnataka successfully chased down Haryana’s total of 237 for 9.
Padikkal, who had already scored a century in his previous match, followed up with an elegant 86 off 113 balls, his seventh consecutive fifty-plus score in the competition. His partnership with Ravichandran Smaran, who contributed a classy 76 off 94 balls, was the key to Karnataka’s successful chase. The pair added 128 runs for the third wicket, turning the game in Karnataka’s favor after a rocky start. Padikkal’s controlled knock was the backbone of the chase, though he was dismissed when he top-edged a heave off Sindhu to mid-off, with Karnataka still needing 44 runs. Smaran followed soon after, falling for 76 when just 13 runs were needed.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka’s bowlers set the stage for the win. Left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty was the standout, taking 4 wickets for 34 runs, including key dismissals of Haryana’s half-centurions, Parth Vats and Nishant Sindhu. Karnataka’s bowlers applied constant pressure, with leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal playing a pivotal role by breaking a crucial partnership between Himanshu Rana and Ankit Kumar, trapping Ankit lbw for 48. Haryana’s innings, which was at one point looking promising, collapsed to 198 for 9 after they had been well-placed at 140 for 2.
Despite some late hitting from the last-wicket pair, Anuj Thakral and Amit Rana, who added 17 runs off the final over, Haryana’s total of 237 for 9 was insufficient. Karnataka’s bowlers, including Prasidh Krishna (2-40) and Gopal (2-36), had a stranglehold on the innings, ensuring regular breakthroughs.
Karnataka’s chase was set back early when their captain, Mayank Agarwal, was dismissed for a duck in the opening over. However, Padikkal and KV Aneesh steadied the ship, with Padikkal riding the uneven bounce of the pitch to score a series of boundaries. Aneesh struggled to get going, but Padikkal’s solid knock helped the team recover. When Padikkal and Smaran joined forces, they made significant strides toward the target, breaking Haryana’s spirit despite the efforts of the spinners, Amit and Sindhu, who were trying to make inroads.
With this win, Karnataka advanced to their fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy final and will now face the winner of the Vidarbha vs Maharashtra semi-final in Saturday’s decider. This victory marked an end to a series of semi-final and quarter-final exits in the last few years, as Karnataka aims to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2015-16.
