Tamil Nadu, Baroda book semis spots with facile wins

Karnataka vs Baroda, 1st Quarterfinal, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Krunal Pandya came up with a fine all-round display that helped Baroda qualify for the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy when they snapped Karnataka's undefeated run with a comfortable seven-wicket victory on Sunday (March 12). Having picked up a three-wicket haul to bowl Karnataka out for 233, Krunal did an excellent job with the bat too, as did Kedar Devdhar, with Gujarat chasing down the target with 4.1 overs to spare.

Although the Baroda openers started off in a watchful manner, Devdhar and Waghmode ensured that they laid the the groundwork for the chase with a 64-run stand for the first wicket. While Sreenath Aravind managed to end the partnership by dismissing Waghmode, Karnataka had to wait for long for their second breakthrough as Devdhar and Pandya's well-paced alliance yielded 92 runs, putting Baroda in the driver's seat.

Following the dismissal of Devdhar, who was bowled by J Suchith, Krunal took Baroda closer by notching up a fine half-century - his third of the tournament. While he wasn't there until the end to see the team sail through to the semis, Deepak Hooda and Yusuf Pathan completed the formalities with a 31-run undefeated partnership.

Earlier, asked to bat first, Karnataka lost wickets in two clusters and were bowled out with seven deliveries remaining in their innings. Following a solid start from their openers Mayank Agarwal and Robin Uthappa, who added 64 runs, Karnataka lost quick wickets and were reduced to 83 for 3 in the 18th over. Ravikumar Samarth and Pavan Deshpande then came up with the rescue act, adding 87 runs for the fourth wicket to set things up nicely for a flourishing finish to the innings.

However, neither of them could convert their promising starts into bigger contributions as Karnataka suffered their second collapse of the innings, losing three wickets for only 18 runs, to slip to six down. Deshpande was run out for a 59-ball 54 and Samarth fell six short of a fifty, following which Stuart Binny departed cheaply, leaving Karnataka reeling at 188 for 6 in the 41st over.

Anirudh Joshi and Suchith tried to guide their side towards a strong total, but flattered to deceive as the tail too caved in. Krunal, who picked up the key wickets of Samarth, Joshi and Suchith, finished with a three-fer.

Brief scores: Karnataka 233 in 48.5 overs (Pavan Deshpande 54, Ravikumar Samarth 44; Krunal Pandya 3-32) lost to Baroda 234/3 in 45.5 overs (Kedar Devdhar 78, Krunal Pandya 70, Deepak Hooda 34*; Sreenath Aravind 2-42) by seven wickets.

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Tamil Nadu vs Gujarat, 2nd Quarterfinal, Palam A Ground, Delhi

Tamil Nadu ended defending Champions Gujarat's Vijay Hazare campaign with a five-wicket victory in the quarterfinal of the 50-over tournament. Having done a good job with the ball to bowl out the Axar Patel-led side for 211, Tamil Nadu dominated the chase, and although they suffered a scare for a brief period, they overcame that to enter a semifinal for the second time in this domestic season.

Ganga Sridhar Raju and Kaushik Gandhi were off to a brisk start in the chase, adding 62 runs in quick time before the Gujarat captain struck to dismiss the latter. Raju went on to bring up a fine half-century and was provided solid support by Baba Aparajith as their second-wicket association yielded 63 runs to keep Tamil Nadu on course.

While Rujul Bhatt managed to end Aparajith's stay, the in-form Dinesh Karthik joined hands with Raju to take Tamil Nadu closer. Gujarat attempted a fightback when they picked up the wickets of Raju, Karthik and Indrajith for only five runs. But, with hardly much left to defend, they finished second best as M Mohammed and Vijay Shankar helped Tamil Nadu get over the line with 7.2 overs to spare.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu bowlers came up with a disciplined effort with the ball to restrict Gujarat to a sub-par total despite an unbeaten 83 from Bhatt. Although Aswin Crist had an off day, going wicketless with an economy in excess of six, Rahil Shah, Shankar and debutant left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore made up for that, sharing seven wickets between them to tie Gujarat down.

Off to a slow start with the bowlers employing tight lines, Gujarat, who had won the toss and opted to bat first, lost Priyank Panchal and Bhargav Merai in quick succession following a 39-run opening stand. While Bhatt tried to hold the innings together and help his side towards a competitive score, he didn't receive much support from the other end as Gujarat lost wickets at regular intervals, with half their side back in the hut for only 110 runs.

Axar tried to assist Bhatt to steady the innings, but he fell after a 35-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Bhatt managed to take the total past the 200-run mark but with wickets falling from the other end, the team eventually folded in the final over.

Brief scores: Gujarat 211 in 49.4 overs (Rujul Bhatt 83, Samit Gohel 39; Vijay Shankar 3-48, Rahil Shah 2-34, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 2-35) lost to Tamil Nadu 217/5 in 42.2 overs (Ganga Sridhar Raju 85, M Mohammed 35*, Baba Aparajith 34; Rohit Dahiya 1-34) by 5 wickets.

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