A superb ton by KL Rahul (107) went in vain as Karnataka went down by five runs to Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A league encounter in Alur on Sunday. Earlier, Punjab,riding on under-19 World Cup star Shubman Gill’s brilliant unbeaten knock of 123 made 269/3 in 42 overs in a game reduced after a delayed start owing to a wet outfield.
The right-hander hit eight fours and six sixes in his 122-ball innings and put on 125 runs for the second wicket with Mandeep Singh (64). In reply, the home side looked in control as long the stylish Rahul was at the crease.
He was also involved in an even 100-run partnership with Pavan Deshpande (53). However, the exit of Deshpande pegged Karnataka back. Rahul fell with 21 runs to go and skipper Vinay Kumar’s 26 couldn’t take the team over the line.
Karnataka continues to top the table with 10 points from four games, while Railways, Punjab, Odisha and Baroda have eight points each. Railways, Odisha and Baroda have played three games while Karnataka and Punjab have played four matches each.
In other matches, Odisha thrashed Assam by nine wickets as Rajesh Dhuper (70*) and skipper Govinda Poddar (50*) reached the target of 137 in 25.4 overs and Railways posted a 51-run win thanks to an solid batting effort by the top-order.
Brief scores
- Punjab 269/3 in 42 overs (Shubnam Gill 123*, Mandeep Singh 64) beat Karnataka 264/9 in 42 overs (KL Rahul 107, Pavan Deshpande 53, Vinay Kumar 26*, Siddharth Kaul 3/47) by 5 runs.
- Railways 272/7 in 50 overs (Mrunal Devdhar 68, Saurabh Wakaskar 58, Arindam Ghosh 55, HV Patel 3/62) beat Haryana 221 in 45.1 overs (CK Bishnoi 79, RP Sharma 50, Ankit Yadav 4/36) 51 runs.