Last Updated:
Aman Mokhade’s fifth century powered Vidarbha to a six-wicket win over Karnataka, breaking their jinx and reaching the Vijay Hazare Trophy final for the primary time.
Vijay Hazare Trophy: Aman Mokhade smashed 138 off 122 balls (PTI)
Aman Mokhade delivered his fifth century of the Vijay Hazare Trophy season, propelling Vidarbha to a decisive six-wicket victory over defending champions Karnataka, securing their spot within the tournament’s final on Thursday.
Mokhade (138 off 122 balls) and R Samarth (76 not out off 69 balls) were pivotal in Vidarbha’s chase of 284 for 4, surpassing Karnataka’s total of 280 all out, which was bolstered by half-centuries from Karun Nair and KL Shrijith.
Pacer Darshan Nalkande (5/48) played an important role in stalling Karnataka’s progress towards the top. Vidarbha will face the winner of the second semifinal between Punjab and Saurashtra in the ultimate on Sunday.
Vijay Hazare Trophy Semi-Final: Karnataka Vs Vidarbha – Highlights
How Vidarbha Beat Karnataka?
Vidarbha had never previously beaten Karnataka within the country’s premier 50-over domestic competition and selected the proper occasion to interrupt that jinx, with Mokhade playing an instrumental role through his determined innings.
After losing his opening partner Atharva Taide early within the chase, Mokhade persevered against the confident Karnataka bowlers, a difficult situation, and cramps towards the top of his innings, reaching a century in 101 balls.
He was involved in two significant partnerships — a 99-run second-wicket stand with the impressive Dhruv Shorey (47) and a 147-run third-wicket partnership with Samarth, who dazzled against his former team with a series of sensible shots.
Pacer Vysakh Vijaykumar had to go away the sector on account of a concussion after the twentieth over, which hampered Karnataka’s bowling in the center overs. Vysakh had been struck on the helmet by pacer Yash Thakur within the last over of Karnataka’s innings, with Manvanth Kumar coming in as a concussion substitute.
Mokhade reached his century with a flicked 4 off pacer Vidyadhar Patil and celebrated with enthusiasm. The 24-year-old right-hander eventually played a tired-looking shot off Patil, which was caught by Devdutt Padikkal contained in the circle. By then, he had secured the match for Vidarbha.
Earlier, Karnataka produced an up-and-down batting performance to achieve a somewhat competitive total. Their innings began slowly, with only 33 runs in the primary 10 overs, during which they lost each openers, Mayank Agarwal and Devdutt Padikkal. Agarwal was trapped in front by pacer Nachiket Bhute, while Devdutt edged a gem of a delivery from Yash Thakur to wicketkeeper Rohit Binkar.
Nonetheless, a period of stability followed, as Karun and Dhruv Prabhakar, who replaced the injured R Smaran, added 54 runs for the third wicket. Prabhakar looked in good form but was hurried right into a pull shot by Nalkande, caught at square leg by Shorey.
Karun and KL Shrijith then formed a solid 113-run partnership for the fourth wicket. While Karun struggled together with his timing, he supported the more fluent Shrijith. Karun displayed glimpses of his shot-making abilities and was fortunate when Yash Rathod caught him just outside the boundary line off Bhute. Karun reached his fifty in 73 balls, which looked as if it would ease his nerves.
Each Karun and Shrijith accelerated the scoring from that time, with the thirty first over yielding 15 runs and 11 runs within the thirty third over, contributing to a complete of 31 runs in only three overs. Nonetheless, Vidarbha regained control as Nalkande dismissed Karun and Shrijith fell six runs later, with Karnataka slipping to 193 for five.
Karnataka received a mini boost from Shreyas Gopal (36) and Abhinav Manohar (26), who added 55 runs for the sixth wicket. However the home side lost a flurry of wickets towards the top, losing momentum and extra runs.
(With inputs from Agencies)
January 15, 2026, 21:55 IST
Read More