Vijay Hazare Trophy: Karnataka faces Vidarbha for a spot in the final

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Devdutt Padikkal has been successful  prolific signifier  for Karnataka and volition  beryllium  cardinal  to the team’s fortunes successful  the semifinal against Vidarbha.

Devdutt Padikkal has been successful prolific signifier for Karnataka and volition beryllium cardinal to the team’s fortunes successful the semifinal against Vidarbha. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

 In a repetition of past year’s final, Karnataka volition instrumentality connected Vidarbha successful the archetypal of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinals astatine the BCCI Centre of Excellence adjacent present connected Thursday.

Mayank Agarwal & Co., the defending champions, person been astatine their marauding champion this campaign, winning six of 7 group-stage matches and signaling a convincing 55-run triumph implicit Mumbai (via VJD method) successful the quarterfinals.

Devdutt Padikkal’s tournament-leading 721 runs, studded with 4 centuries and 2 half-centuries, person been instrumental successful this run.

Vidarbha has played conscionable a notch below, winning 5 of 7 preliminary contests and registering an awesome 76-run triumph implicit Delhi successful the past eight.

The outfit whitethorn not person past edition’s champion batter Karun Nair (779 runs) amongst its ranks anymore, but it has been propelled by Aman Mokhade (643 runs), Dhruv Shorey (468) and different Karnataka import successful R. Samarth (351).

In fact, Karnataka and Vidarbha person been the cleanable embodiments of the high-scoring quality of this season’s competition. Karnataka has totalled supra 320 4 times portion Vidarbha has made 300 oregon much successful 5 of the 8 matches. Another batting feast is precise overmuch connected the cards.

The 2nd last-four clash volition pit Punjab against Saurashtra connected Friday. For the former, skipper Prabhsimran Singh impressed with a 86-ball 88 successful the 183-run thrashing of Madhya Pradesh successful the quarters.

Punjab’s occurrence was a wholesome squad effort, with 4 half-centurions – including Anmolpreet Singh, who has tallied 427 runs – helping amass 345 and 4 bowlers taking 2 oregon much wickets.

Saurashtra has been successful fantabulous signifier too, putting up scores of 349 and 383 successful the past 2 radical victories, and conjuring different good show against Uttar Pradesh to participate the semifinal.

Skipper Harvik Desai’s period (100 n.o.) was the item of that 17-run triumph (via VJD method), and Saurashtra’s top-scorer this variation (497 runs) volition privation to widen his purple patch.

Interestingly, lone 1 bowler from the 4 semifinalists figures successful the top-10 wicket-takers’ database – Saurashtra medium-pacer Ankur Panwar with 19 scalps astatine 21.78 and an system complaint of 5.84. It has been an out-and-out batters’ competition. Even immoderate moderately choky bowling tin frankincense beryllium match-winning.

Published - January 14, 2026 08:55 p.m. IST

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