Karnataka beat Railways by 16 runs on Friday to qualify for the knockout phase of the Vijay Hazare Trophy from Group A alongside table toppers Baroda. Mayank Agarwal continued his good form with a fine 89-run knock (15 fours) and shared a 132-run fourth-wicket partnership with Pavan Deshpande (65, 67 balls, 9X4, 1x6) as Karnataka made 257 all out in 48.1 overs.
The home team slid from 182 for 4 to be all-out in 49th after the fall of Deshpande as the Railways bowlers tightened things up. In response, Railways were in trouble straightaway as both the openers failed to open their account and the fall of a further four wickets left them tottering at 54 for 6.
When a quick end looked possible, Anureet Singh (59), Ankit Yadav (51) and Avinash Yadav (40) launched a fightback.
Anureet and Ankit were involved in a 91-run stand for the seventh wicket to revive Railways' hopes. However, young medium-pacer M Prasidh took three wickets to hasten a collapse and the visitors were dismissed in the 48th over.
In the other two games played in the group, Odisha trounced Haryana by nine wickets and Baroda, riding on opener Aditya Waghmode's superb knock of 148 (128 balls, 17X4, 4X6), posted a massive 279-run win over Assam.
Waghmode and Kedar Devdhar (61) powered Baroda to 378 for 7 in 50 overs before they bundled out Assam for 99 in 30 overs. Baroda topped the group with 20 points followed by Karnataka (16).
Final standings (Played, won, points): 1. Baroda: 6, 5, 20; 2. Karnataka: 6, 4, 18, 3. Punjab: 6, 3, 12; 4.
Odisha: 6, 3, 12; 5. Railways: 6, 3, 12; 6. Haryana: 6, 2 10; Assam: 6, 0, 0.
Brief scores: Karnataka 257 all out in 48.1 overs (Mayank Agarwal 89, Pavan Deshpande 65, Anureet Singh 3 for 36, Amit Mishra 3 for 45) beat Railways 241 all out in 47.1 overs (Anureet Singh 59, Ankit Yadav 51, Avinash Yadav 40, T Pradeep 4 for 28, M Prasidh 4 for 35). Points: Karnataka: 4; Railways: 0.
Baroda 378 for 7 in in 50 overs (Aditya Waghmode 148, Kedar Devdhar 61) beat Assam 99 all out in 30 overs (Swapnil K Singh 2 for 0, Deepak Hooda 2 for 13). Points: Baroda: 4; Assam: 0.
At Bengaluru: Haryana 170 all out in 45.4 overs (S D Dhull 72, H V Patel 50, Deepak Behera 6 for 22) lost to Odisha 172 for 1 in 31.4 overs (Anurag Sarangi 84 not out, Shantanu Mishra 53 not out). Points: Odisha: 4; Haryana: 0.
(With PTI Inputs)
