Karnataka’s top order was rattled by Unadkat, who took out their captain Mayank Agarwal (1) and keeper-batter BR Sharath (3) for low scores, and then Mankad brought them down to 47 for 4 in just 19 overs.
The veteran left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat took four wickets and Prerak Mankad put on an all-around display as Saurashtra beat Karnataka by five wickets on Wednesday in Ahmedabad to go to the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Unadkat shook up the top of the order for Karnataka by taking out the captain, Mayank Agarwal, for just one run, and the keeper-batter, BR Sharath, for three runs in quick succession. This set the tone for Mankad, who took Nikon Jose’s (12) and Manish Pandey’s (0) wickets in four balls to reduce Karnataka to 47 for 4 in 19.2 overs.
A total of seven Karnataka batters were unable to reach double digits as their innings collapsed for 171 in 49.1 overs.
In reply, the reigning champions Saurashtra cruised to victory in just 36.2 overs, with No. 3 hitter Jay Gohil smashing 61 runs off 82 balls (including eight fours and one six).
Mankad made a crucial contribution as well, scoring 35 runs off of 32 balls, and he and Gohil combined for a crucial 53-run partnership that all but ended the game.
Earlier, Karnataka’s opening batsman Ravikumar Samarth (88; 135b; 4×4, 1×6) had held the innings together with a courageous half-century, but he lost his cool as wickets fell around him and became Unadkat’s third victim. The sensation is wonderful. We entered the knockout round intending to time our attacks perfectly. This is the best it gets,” Unadkat remarked.
The performance with the ball and the bat was fantastic. Since I won the coin toss, I felt pressure to score first. I felt quite good about my chances of winning the competition given how I had been bowling thus far.
After all that strain, the boys bowled really well. The final score was Saurashtra 141-5 in 31 overs (Jay Gohil 61, Mankad 35, Samarth Vyas 33; Krishnappa Gowtham 2/50) against Karnataka 171 (Ravikumar Samarth 88; Jaydev Unadkat 4/26, Prerak Mankad 2/34) by five wickets.
