Ankeet Bawane's unbeaten 104 helps Maharashtra crush Karnataka

Maharashtra recorded its second victory in as many matches, while Karnataka’s opening fixture was one it would be keen to forget.

After being put in to bat, Maharashtra managed a modest total of 245 for eight, on the back of a composed unbeaten century from Ankeet Bawane.

A flat Karnataka was crushed by an energetic Maharashtra in their Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Maharashtra recorded its second victory in as many matches, while Karnataka’s opening fixture was one it would be keen to forget.

When the rain stopped proceedings in the 23rd over of Karnataka’s chase, the home side was in an unfavourable position. As per the VJD method, the par score for Karnataka was set at 164. Vinay Kumar and his men, hopelessly placed at 107 for six, went down by 57 runs.

As it happened:  Vijay Hazare Trophy, Day 2

After being put in to bat, Maharashtra managed a modest total of 245 for eight on the back of a composed unbeaten century from Ankeet Bawane. The one-drop batsman scored a 115-ball 104, even as wickets tumbled at the other end.

Bawane and Rahul Tripathi (70, 68b, 7x4, 2x6) put on 112 runs for the third wicket before Tripathi was dismissed leg-before by pacer A. Mithun. The Maharashtra batsmen were helped by a lethargic show by Karnataka. The bowling was wayward, and the fielding was lazy. The sole exception was skipper Vinay Kumar, who showed commitment to the cause both as a bowler and a fielder.

Bawane, meanwhile, brought up his fifth List-A 100 in the last over of the innings. He started the over on 92 and moved to 98 by hitting off-spinner K. Gowtham over long-on for a six. On the penultimate ball, Bawane took a quick double and completed his 100 with a desperate dive into the crease. Having made 80 and 91 not out for India A recently here, Bawane was relieved to reach the three-figure mark this time around.

Karnataka’s reply did not start well, with openers Mayank Agarwal (17) and R. Samarth (12) falling cheaply. Key player Karun Nair was taken out by a direct hit from Anupam Sanklecha at deep fine-leg. Both Nair and his partner Samarth were to blame for their decision to take a risky third run.

C. M. Gautam and Pavan Deshpande sought to pull Karnataka back on track, with a 59-run fourth-wicket stand. Another disastrous piece of running came to haunt the team when Deshpande tapped the ball to mid-wicket and called for a single. Gautam responded, but a direct hit from Tripathi left the wicketkeeper-batsman well short. Unlike its rival counterparts, the Maharashtra fielders were full of energy, and this resulted in two big scalps.

Stuart Binny (0) and Deshpande (31, 41b) returned to the hut a short while later, leaving Karnataka on 100 for six. Heavy showers then arrived, spelling doom for the defending champion.

In two more rain-affected fixtures, Baroda and Himachal Pradesh cruised to victories. While Baroda went past Vidarbha to record its first win, Himachal Pradesh derailed Railways.

The scores:

Maharashtra 245 for eight in 50 overs (Ankeet Bawane 104 n.o., Rahul Tripathi 70, Ruturaj Gaikwad 32) bt Karnataka 107 for six in 22.4 overs (Pavan Deshpande 31, C.M. Gautam 29) (match called off due to rain, Maharashtra win by 57 runs by VJD method).

Vidarbha 254 in 50 overs (Atharwa Taide 57, Faiz Fazal 56, Ganesh Satish 32, L. Meriwala three for 54) lost to Baroda 151 for two in 29 overs (Kedar Devdhar 46, A. Waghmode 50, Krunal Pandya 34 n.o.) (match called off due to rain, Baroda win by 37 runs via VJD method).

Railways 187 in 47.5 overs (Karan Sharma 33, Harsh Tyagi 29, M. Dagar four for 38, A. Jamwal three for 36) lost to Himachal Pradesh 170 for five in 41.3 overs (Prashant Chopra 77, N. Gangta 50) (match called off due to rain, HP win by 33 runs via VJD method).