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Vijay Hazare Trophy: Karnataka clinch record 5th title
Karnataka beat Vidarbha by 36 runs (Image Source: X/@BCCIdomestic)

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Karnataka clinch record 5th title

By Rajdeep Saha
Jan 18, 2025
11:50 pm
What's the story

Karnataka registered a historic win in the 2024-25 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Vidarbha by 36 runs. The final was played at Vadodara's Kotambi Stadium. This win marks Karnataka's record fifth title in the prestigious domestic cricket tournament. The team was led to victory by Smaran Ravichandran's second List A hundred and important contributions from other key players. Karnataka posted 348/6 in 50 overs. In response, Vidarbha scored 312/10.

Key performances

Smaran, Srijith and Manohar lead the show for Karnataka

In the title clash, Smaran shone with an impressive 101 off 92 balls. He smashed 7 fours and three sixes. He was well supported by wicketkeeper-batsman Krishnan Srijith who scored a solid 78 off 74 deliveries. Meanwhile, Abhinav Manohar slammed a brilliant 42-ball 79 (SR: 188.10). Their efforts helped Karnataka set a challenging 348 for six. Darshan Nalkande claimed 2/67 from 9 overs whereas Nachiket Bhute claimed 2/68 from his 10 overs for Vidarbha.

Response

A look at how Vidarbha responded

For Vidarbha, the in-form Dhruv Shorey hit 110 runs from 111 balls. He forged crucial stands alongside Karun Nair, Yash Kadam and Jitesh Sharma. With his dismissal, Vidarbha were reduced to 223/6. Thereafter, Harsh Dubey shone with a 30-ball 63, slamming 5 fours and five sixes. His blitz helped Vidarbha get past 300. For Karnataka, Vasuki Koushik managed 3/47. Prasidh Krishna (3/84) proved to be costly. Meanwhile, Abhilash Shetty took 3/58.

Key stats

Key stats of the two centurions in the match

Smaran's 101 saw him finish the 2024/25 VHT season with 433 runs from 10 matches (7 innings). He averaged 72.16 and struck at 100.23. The tourney saw him smashing two tons and two fifties. Vidarbha opener Shorey hit his third century in VHT 2024/25 (50s: 1). In 8 matches, he racked up 494 runs at 70.57. Overall, Shorey owns 6 tons in List A cricket. He has 2,712 runs from 72 matches, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Information

Nair tops the billing in VHT 2024/25

Nair misfired with a 27-run knock in the final. However, the Vidarbha skipper had a dream season. He ended as the top scorer, amassing 779 runs at 389.50. He finished the tourney with 5 tons and a fifty.

Do you know?

Koushik ends as Karnataka's joint-top wicket-taker

Koushik's three-fer saw him finish the campaign with 18 wickets. He was Karnataka's joint-top wicket-taker alongside spinner Shreyas Gopal. Koushik averaged 24.44.

Trio

Key stats of the half-centurions VHT final

Manohar made his presence felt for Karnataka. He finished with 235 runs from 10 matches (8 innings), striking at 145.06. This was his 2nd fifty in VHT 2024/25. Krishnan's 78 saw him race to 303 runs in VHT this season at 43.28. This was his maiden fifty. He also hit a ton. Vidarbha's Dubey slammed his 2nd fifty in List A cricket. The all-rounder averages 35.50 and owns 213 runs from 9 innings (20 matches).

Captain's remarks

Agarwal praises young talent in post-match ceremony

Following the victory, Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal lauded his team's effort and the contribution of youngsters. "Feeling great, feels amazing to have won this after a while. It's just that we turned up, we won those crucial moments. Lot of the youngsters stepped up," Agarwal said during the post-match presentation ceremony. He also credited Manohar's game-changing partnership as a key to their win.

Road to victory

Karnataka's journey to the final

Karnataka had a brilliant run in the group stage, losing only once in seven matches. They beat Baroda and Haryana in the knockouts to reach the final against Vidarbha. This was their first final appearance in over five years. The team first won the tournament in 2013-14 season and defended the title next year. Their third and fourth titles came in 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons respectively.

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