RESULT
Final (D/N), Vadodara, January 18, 2025, Vijay Hazare Trophy
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(48.2/50 ov, T:349) 312

Karnataka won by 36 runs

Player Of The Match
101 (92)
ravichandran-smaran
Player Of The Series
, VIDAR
779 runs
karun-nair
Report

Smaran, Shrijith, Manohar power Karnataka to Vijay Hazare title

Dhruv Shorey's run-a-ball hundred in vain for Vidarbha

Shashank Kishore
Shashank Kishore
18-Jan-2025
R Smaran's 60-ball 104 led Gulbarga Mystics to victory, Gulbarga Mystics vs Mysuru Warriors, Maharaja T20, Bengaluru, August 18, 2024

File photo: R Smaran emerged as the breakout star for Karnataka in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy  •  Maharaja T20

Karnataka 348 for 6 (Smaran 101, Manohar 79, Shrijith 78, Nalkande 2-67) beat Vidarbha 312 (Shorey 110, H Dubey 63, Koushik 3-47, Shetty 3-58) by 36 runs
In a high-scoring contest that produced over 650 runs and two superb hundreds from R Smaran and Dhruv Shorey, it was a 42-ball 79 from Abhinav Manohar that made the difference as Karnataka edged Vidarbha in a thriller to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Vadodara.
That it became a thriller was down to Harsh Dubey's 63 off 30 balls after Karun Nair's dream run in the tournament ended. Nair was dismissed for only the second time in eight innings in the tournament when Prasidh Krishna knocked him over for 27. Nair finished with a chart-topping 779 runs at an eye-popping average of 389.50.
Dubey built on Shorey's third successive century, by hitting a 25-ball half-century lower down the order, to bring the equation down to 37 off 12 balls. In the end, Dubey ran out of partners and was the last man dismissed when he heaved left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty to deep midwicket as Karnataka sealed victory to break a five-year trophy drought.
The game was fought on an even keel for most parts. Karnataka, who were put in to bat, lost the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over, before KV Aneesh and Mayank Agarwal steadied the innings.
Seamer Nachiket Bhute then struck twice in two overs to remove both batters; Agarwal fell for 32 to finish the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 651 runs. At 67 for 3, Karnataka needed a rescue act, and two relatively inexperienced players stepped up.
Smaran and KL Shrijith, both of whom are in their first full seasons, put together 160 for the fourth wicket. The pair slowly built a platform before picking up pace. They took 26 off the 27th and 28th overs as Karnataka went on the offensive. Shrijith was superb in his footwork against spin, quickly bringing up a half-cegntury off 54 balls, Smaran followed suit in the same over when he brought his off 47 balls with an exquisite pull in front of square off the nippy Yash Thakur.
Shrijith's dismissal in the 38th over brought Manohar out to the middle, and he enhanced his reputation of being a finisher with some pristine hitting, not once giving the impression that he was slogging. On 24 off 25 at the end of the 44th over, Manohar began the surge by hitting Bhute for a sequence of 4, 4, 6 to begin the 45th.
When Bhute bowled length into the pitch, Manohar used the angle to pick a boundary behind point. When Bhute bowled a wide yorker, he scythed it to the deep-cover fence, and when he missed a yorker, Manohar stayed deep inside the crease and shovelled it to clear long-off.
Thakur bore the brunt of Manohar's fury in the following over when he was picked away for two fours in the 46th, and three back-to-back fours in the 48th, as the wheels started to come off Vidarbha's attack. The last seven overs fetched Karnataka 83 as they got the perfect finish.
Vidarbha started the chase briskly but lost the centurion of the previous game, Yash Rathod, for 22 when he got a leading edge to Padikkal at slip. Nair and Shorey were then involved in a half-century stand to lift Vidarbha's hopes.
Nair was particularly sparkling in his short stay, punching and pulling Prasidh Krishna through covers and midwicket, and then going after legspinner Shreyas Gopal at the first sign of spin being introduced. But he fell for 27 off 31 balls when he failed to cover the line of a Prasidh inducker that kept slightly low.
Vidarbha then chugged along with Jitesh Sharma giving Shorey company in a half-century stand before holing out to long-on. That wicket not only galvanised Karnataka but also freed up Vidarbha to go for broke, like Dubey did. With some support, he may have yet been able to pull off a heist, but it wasn't to be.

Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Vijay Hazare Trophy

Group A
TeamMWLDPTNRR
GUJ7700282.582
HRYNA7610240.728
JHK7430160.423
UKHND7340120.846
GOA734012-0.676
ASSAM734012-0.816
ODSA725080.170
MNPR70700-2.952
Group B
TeamMWLDPTNRR
MAHA7610241.736
RAJ7520200.349
RLYS7520200.856
HP7430160.649
AP7430161.115
SVCS72508-0.510
SIKM72508-1.395
MEGHA70700-2.474
Group C
TeamMWLDPTNRR
KNTKA7610241.393
PNJB7610242.401
MUM7520202.114
HYD7430160.516
PONDI734012-0.880
SAU7340120.570
NAGA71604-0.690
ARP70700-6.246
Group D
TeamMWLDPTNRR
VIDAR6600241.996
TN6410182.443
UP6320140.338
CGR623010-1.122
CHD6230100.415
J + K61406-0.560
MIZO60502-4.298
Group E
TeamMWLDPTNRR
BRODA6510200.851
BENG6410180.539
MP6320140.583
DELHI6330120.371
KER6230100.652
TPURA61406-1.894
BIHAR61504-1.261