New Delhi: Krunal Pandya continued his fantastic form guiding Baroda to an easy seven wicket victory against Karnataka, on the other hand opener V Ganga Sridhar Raju's 85 steered Tamil Nadu to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a five-wicket win over Ranji champions Gujarat.
The elder of the Pandya brothers, Krunal, first grabbed 3 for 32 in 6 overs to restrict Karnataka to 233 in 45.5 overs and then anchored the chase with a well-compiled 70 off 79 balls taking Baroda home in 45.5 overs.
Krunal had a partnership of 92 runs for the second wicket with opener Kedar Devdhar (78, 98 balls) after adding 64 for the first wicket with Aditya waghmode.
Devdhar's innings had six fours and two sixes while Krunal hit five boundaries and straight lofted six. Deepak Hooda also played his bit hitting 34 off 39 balls.
The match was certainly Krunal's who has now had a fabulous 50-over tournament and is certain to make it to one of the Challenger Trophy teams if Baroda doesn't emerge champions.
Krunal now has 11 wickets and three half-centuries in the tournament so far.
During his knock, Krunal ran beautifully between the wickets pushing the portly Kedar for quick doubles.
He found the gaps with ease. Devdhar also packed a punch in his drives as Baroda didn't look like missing injured Hardik Pandya and neither did they require the services of veteran Yusuf Pathan.
During the Karnataka innings, Pawan Deshpande (54) and Ravikumar Samarth (44) were the main scorers. Opener Mayank Agarwal (40) was dismissed after getting set.
Krunal was brought into the attack in the 38th over when Karnataka were only four down and looking good for a big score. But the Mumbai Indians all-rounder did get the important breakthroughs and was instrumental in keeping opposition below 250.
Opener V Ganga Sridhar Raju's 85 steered Tamil Nadu to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a five-wicket win over Ranji champions Gujarat here today.
Tamil Nadu knocked out Gujarat with 46 balls to spare at the Palam A Ground.
Opting to bat, Gujarat were all out for a modest 211 in 49.4 overs, thanks to some disciplined bowling from Tamil Nadu.
In reply, Tamil Nadu chased down the target in 42.2 overs.
While Raju knocked off his runs in 95 balls with the help of 12 boundaries, Baba Aparajith was the next best scorer with 34 off 49 balls.
Gujarat's defeat meant Rujul Bhatt's unbeaten 83 went in vain.
Gujarat could not capitalise on their decision to bat as left-arm spinner Rahil Shah removed two of the top three batsmen even though Samit Gohel battled with a patient 39 till the 21st over.
Two quick wickets from Vijay Shankar, trapping Het Patel and Chirag Gandhi lbw, meant Gujarat slipped to 110 for five with over 20 overs left.
Bhatt, however, steadied the innings with a brisk half-century and guided the tail to ensure Gujarat batted till the last over.
His 83 came off 98 balls, with five fours and two sixes. Among Tamil Nadu bowlers, Shankar (3 for 48), RS Kishore (2 for 35) and Shah (2 for 34) were the most impressive.
Brief Scores: Karnataka 233 in 48.5 overs (pawan Deshpande 54, Krunal Pandya 3/32 in 6 overs)
Baroda 234/3 (Kedar Devdhar 78, Krunal Pandya 70, Deepak Hooda 34 no). Baroda won by 7 wickets.
Brief Scores: Gujarat 211/10 in 49.4 overs (Rujul Bhatt 83*,Vijay Shankar 48/3)
Tamil Nadu 217/5 in 42.2 overs (Ganga Sridhar Raju 85, Rohit Dahiya 34/1) Tamil Nadu won by 5 wickets.
