Vinay, Mithun fireworks seal thrilling win as Karnataka maintain unbeaten run

Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun fired Karnataka to a thrilling four-wicket win over Chhattisgarh.

Vinay Kumar and Abhimanyu Mithun fired Karnataka to a thrilling four-wicket win over Chhattisgarh in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 clash in Cuttack on Wednesday.

Chasing a challenging 172, Karnataka were struggling at 109/5 in 15 overs before the lower order came to their rescue, overhauling the target with four deliveries to spare.

Both Karnataka openers Mayank Agarwal and Rohan Kadam failed to build on their decent starts with Vishal Kushwah (2/40) accounting for the duo. Aishwarya Mourya then got rid of captain Manish Pandey (9) and BR Sharath (0) in the same over to leave them at 57/4 in 9 overs.

The dismissal of Karun Nair (35), who had kept his end tight, in the 15th over left Karnataka with a tough ask. They had hope in Jagadeesha Suchith who had struck 34 but his wicket in the 17th over put Chhattisgarh in control of the proceedings.

However, Vinay Kumar struck four sixes to remain unbeaten on 34 off 13 while Mithun struck a four and two sixes in his 7-ball 18* to guide their team to a fifth straight win of the season.

Earlier, Chhattisgarh top-order, barring Shashank Chandraker (3) put up solid performances to help them to 171/3 in 20 overs with captain Harpreet Singh taking the lead after opting to bat first at the Barabati Stadium.

Harpreet scored 79 off 56 with eight fours and three sixes and was only dislodged in the final over after having walked in to bat during the second over.

Amandeep Khare contributed with an unbeaten 45 off 31 to what Chhattisgarh would have hoped was a defendable total and they nearly made it to the finishing line before encountering the resistance of Vinay Kumar and Mithun.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 175/6 (Karun Nair 35, Vinay Kumar 34*, Jagadeesha Suchith 34) beat Chhattisgarh 171/3 (Harpreet Singh 79*, Amandeep Khare 45*) by four wickets