R Silambarasan, a medium-pacer, took four wickets as Tamil Nadu amassed 354 for eight in 50 overs and then bowled out the opponents for 203 in 40 overs for a big victory.
To get to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic 50-over event, Tamil Nadu produced an outstanding all-around performance on Tuesday, crushing Karnataka by 151 runs. Karnataka captain Manish Pandey had sent Tamil Nadu in to bat, and they put up 354 for eight in 50 overs before being bowled out for 203 in 40 overs.
M Shahrukh Khan bludgeoned an undefeated 39-ball seventy-nine to enable Tamil Nadu to amass a 350-plus total.
In the final four overs, Shahrukh Khan’s aggressiveness was evident as the Karnataka bowlers took the brunt of the pressure.
This was Shahrukh Khan’s best innings of the tournament, with 23 runs from Prasidh Krishna’s 48th over, despite the fact that he had previously shown off his striking prowess with a last-ball six in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final against this same opponent.
A ninth-wicket partnership of 64 between R Silambarasan and Shahrukh Khan underlined the latter’s poor form. At one point, the team didn’t seem capable of achieving such an impressive score.
Tamil Nadu’s innings were boosted by a 147-run partnership between Jagadeesan and Sai Kishore, which left Karnataka’s bowlers stumped.
Prior to Shahrukh Khan’s pyrotechnics, Dinesh Karthik (44, 37 balls) and Baba Indrajith (31, 24 balls, 3x4s) also made significant contributions.
Skipper Vijay Shankar (3) and Washington Sundar (0), on the other hand, we’re unable to make an impression.
Both Praveen Dubey and Prasidh Krishna finished with three wickets each, but the leg-spinner proved to be costly in the final few overs. All the other Karnataka bowlers were unable to stop the opposing hitters from getting on the board.
Devdutt Padikkal’s duck against Sandeep Warrier set Karnataka back in their quest for a place in the semifinals.
In response to Karnataka’s opening strike, Rohan Kadam (24) and K V Siddharth (29) steadied the Karnataka innings, but as the asking rate rose, Kadam was caught by Silambarasan (4/36).
Siddharth was caught in the deep by Shahrukh off the bowling of Sai Kishore (1/32), leaving Karnataka on 69 for three.
A lot of pressure was on Manish Pandey if Karnataka were to battle back, but he was dismissed for 9 by M Siddharth as the side went down to 74-4.
S Sharath, Abhinav Manohar, and Praveen Dubey did their best, but Karnataka was doomed from that point forth.
Winning wickets at regular intervals ensured that the Karnataka challenge was ended at 203 in 39 overs by Silambarasan and Washington Sundar (3/43 from 9).
Karnataka 203 all out in 39 overs (S Sharath 43 K V Siddharth 29, R Silambarasan 4/36 and Washington Sundar 3/43) lost against Tamil Nadu 354 for 8 in 50 overs (N Jagadeesan 102, M Shahrukh Khan 79, R Sai Kishore 61, Dinesh Karthik 44, Praveen Dubey 3/67).
