After being asked to bat, Haryana had Karnataka under the pump at 192 for 3 before the last over and was on course for a score over 200. What followed next was something that had happened only once before in the history of T20 cricket.
Abhimanyu Mithun, who until then had given away 37 runs in his first three overs, produced an over for the ages, picking up five wickets. He took wickets off the first four deliveries and gave away only two runs to finish with an effort of 5 for 39.
One-way traffic
From there on, it was one-way traffic as Devdutt Padikkal and K. L. Rahul thrashed the Haryana bowlers all over the park with disdain to chase down 195 in just 15 overs. The eight-wicket win took the team to the final.
The India opener slammed 66 (31b, 4x4, 6x6) while Padikkal made a brilliant 87 (42b, 11x4, 4x6). The duo added 125 runs for first wicket in just 9.3 overs.
After being watchful for two overs, Rahul went after Ashish Hooda in the fourth over of the match. He started with a six over long-on and three boundaries square on the off-side before Padikkal finished the over with a boundary off his own. Padikkal’s first six scoring shots were just boundaries and he initially played second-fiddle to Rahul before launching his onslaught.
Earlier, Haryana, riding on half-centuries from Himanshu Rana (61) and Chaitanya Bishnoi (55), was in a comfortable position before Mithun muzzled it in one over.
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