Karnataka 348 for 6 (Smaran 101, Manohar 79, Shrijith 78, Nalkande 2-67) beat Vidarbha 312 (Shorey 110, H Dubey 63, Koushik 3-47, Shetty 3-58) by 36 runs
Dubey built on Shorey’s third successive century, by hitting a 25-ball half-century lower down the order, to bring the equation down to 37 off 12 balls. In the end, Dubey ran out of partners and was the last man dismissed when he heaved left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty to deep midwicket as Karnataka sealed victory to break a five-year trophy drought.
The game was fought on an even keel for most parts. Karnataka, who were put in to bat, lost the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over, before KV Aneesh and Mayank Agarwal steadied the innings.
Shrijith’s dismissal in the 38th over brought Manohar out to the middle, and he enhanced his reputation of being a finisher with some pristine hitting, not once giving the impression that he was slogging. On 24 off 25 at the end of the 44th over, Manohar began the surge by hitting Bhute for a sequence of 4, 4, 6 to begin the 45th.
When Bhute bowled length into the pitch, Manohar used the angle to pick a boundary behind point. When Bhute bowled a wide yorker, he scythed it to the deep-cover fence, and when he missed a yorker, Manohar stayed deep inside the crease and shovelled it to clear long-off.
Thakur bore the brunt of Manohar’s fury in the following over when he was picked away for two fours in the 46th, and three back-to-back fours in the 48th, as the wheels started to come off Vidarbha’s attack. The last seven overs fetched Karnataka 83 as they got the perfect finish.
Vidarbha started the chase briskly but lost the centurion of the previous game, Yash Rathod, for 22 when he got a leading edge to Padikkal at slip. Nair and Shorey were then involved in a half-century stand to lift Vidarbha’s hopes.
Nair was particularly sparkling in his short stay, punching and pulling Prasidh Krishna through covers and midwicket, and then going after legspinner Shreyas Gopal at the first sign of spin being introduced. But he fell for 27 off 31 balls when he failed to cover the line of a Prasidh inducker that kept slightly low.
Vidarbha then chugged along with Jitesh Sharma giving Shorey company in a half-century stand before holing out to long-on. That wicket not only galvanised Karnataka but also freed up Vidarbha to go for broke, like Dubey did. With some support, he may have yet been able to pull off a heist, but it wasn’t to be.
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
