Vijay Hazare Trophy: Centuries by Mayank Agarwal and R Samarth power Karnataka to semis

Mayank Agarwal’s dream run in domestic cricket continued as his power-packed 140 off only 111 balls was the cornerstone in Karnataka’s crushing 103-run victory over Hyderabad in the quarter-final match of Vijay Hazare Trophy in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Along with Ravikumar Samarth (125 off 124 balls), Mayank added 242 runs for the second wicket as Karnataka piled up a huge 347 for 8 in 50 overs and then bowled out Hyderabad for 244 in 42.5 overs with Shreyas Gopal picking up 5 for 31.

The day certainly belonged to Agarwal, who had scored more than 1000 runs in Ranji Trophy this season. Post match, he was asked if he had a point to prove to Rahul Dravid, who in 2015-16 had said that Agarwal needed to be more consistent.

“I am not out here to prove any point to anyone. In the past one and half years, my consistency has improved and I am more aware about my strengths and weaknesses. I am grateful to my coach Mr RX Murali, who has worked with me extensively on my game. He helped me evolve as a player,” Agarwal told reporters after the game.

With chairman of selectors MSK Prasad and his colleague Sarandeep …read more