Vijay Hazare Trophy: Maharashtra, Saurashtra Reach Final With Win Over Assam, Karnataka

Maharashtra, Saurashtra reached the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy after registering wins over Assam, Karnataka in their respective semifinals on Wednesday.While Maharashtra beat Assam by 12 runs in a high-scoring contest to reach their maiden Vijay Hazare final, Saurashtra registered a comfortable five-wicket win over Karnataka in the other semifinal.

Maharashtra vs Assam

Fighting knocks from Swarupam Purkayastha (95), Sibsankar Roy (78) and Rishav Das (53) went in vain as Maharashtra overcame Assam by 12 runs in Ahmedabad to book a spot in the final. Rajvardhan Hangargekar had an impressive spell, finishing with 4 for 65.

Riding on Ruturaj Gaikwad's 168 and Ankit Bawne's 110, Maharashtra posted a formidable 350/7 in 50 overs. In reply, Assam threatened to chase it down, but they faltered in the end and were eventually restricted to 338/8.

Put into bat, Maharashtra lost the wicket of Rahul Tripathi early but Gaikwad and Satyajeet Bachhav stitched a useful partnership to build a steady platform. Following Bachhav's dismissal, Gaikwad joined hands with Bawne to put on a 207-run stand for the third wicket.

The 25-year-old Gaikwad, who registered his third century in four innings, eventually got out in the 45th over. Bawne then scored his hundred to set up Maharashtra's strong total.

In reply, Rishav Das's half-century led Assam's run-chase despite Maharashtra bagging regular wickets. But his wicket in the 16th over left Assam at 103/4 and with rebuilding to do.

Thereafter, Roy and Purkayastha put on a 133 run stand for the fifth wicket to get Assam back in the game but they were derailed again by quick wickets. Purkayastha was the key for Assam but he was dismissed soon after the team crossed 300 in the 45th over. The lower order couldn't do much after that as Assam ended up short to suffer a heart-breaking exit.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 350/7 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 168, Ankit Bawne 110; Mukhtar Hussain 3-42) beat Assam 338/8 in 50 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 95, Sibsankar Roy 78; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 4-65) by 12 runs.

Karnataka vs Saurashtra

In the other semi-final in Ahmedabad, Jaydev Unadkat's four-wicket haul, Jay Gohil's 61 and Prerak Mankad's all-round contribution led Saurashtra to the summit clash. Having bowled out Karnataka for 171, Saurashtra reached the target in 36.2 overs to reach the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time since their victorious 2008 season.

After opting to bowl first, Saurashtra reduced Karnataka to 47 for 4, with Unadkat and Prerak Mankad bagging two wickets apiece. Skipper Mayank Agarwal and former captain Manish Pandey were both dismissed cheaply and it was R Samarth's knock of 88 which kept the scoreboard ticking until he became the eighth to depart.

Manoj Bhandage's 22 was the second-highest contribution for Karnataka, who were dismissed for a paltry total, a Cricbuzz report said.

In reply, Saurashtra lost both their openers -- Harvik Desai and Sheldon Jackson -- for ducks but Gohil and Samarth Vyas stitched a 75-run partnership to make things steady for their team.

Gohil also put on a half-century stand with Mankad before Karnataka bagged a couple of quick wickets as they tried to fight back. But Arpit Vasavada and Chirag Jani, through their unbroken 33-run alliance, helped Saurashtra emerge winners.

Brief scores:

Maharashtra vs Assam

Maharashtra 350/7 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 168, Ankit Bawne 110; Mukhtar Hussain 3-42) beat Assam 338/8 in 50 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 95, Sibsankar Roy 78; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 4-65) by 12 runs.

Karnataka vs Saurashtra

Maharashtra 350/7 (Ruturaj Gaikwad 168, Ankit Bawne 110; Mukhtar Hussain 3-42) beat Assam 338/8 in 50 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 95, Sibsankar Roy 78; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 4-65) by 12 runs.

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