NEW DELHI: Defending champions Karnataka advanced to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the fourth season in a row after beating Mumbai by 55 runs via the VJD method on Monday.Chasing a target of 255, Karnataka were 187 for 1 in 33 overs when rain stopped play at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru. At that stage, the VJD par score was 132, with Karnataka well ahead. Devdutt Padikkal was unbeaten on 81 off 95 balls, while Karun Nair was not out on 74 from 80 deliveries.Earlier, Mumbai were restricted to 254 for 8 after Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal chose to bowl. Mumbai were already without pacer Tushar Deshpande due to personal reasons, and suffered another setback when Sarfaraz Khan was ruled out after injuring his finger during net practice.Mumbai struggled early and slipped to 60 for 4 in 17.2 overs. Shams Mulani held the innings together with 86 off 91 balls, hitting eight boundaries. He added 76 runs for the sixth wicket with captain Siddhesh Lad, who scored 38 off 58 balls.After Lad was dismissed, Mumbai lost two quick wickets, but Mulani continued to anchor the innings. He reached his half-century off 68 balls and accelerated later with support from Sairaj Patil, who scored 33 not out off 25 balls. The pair helped Mumbai add 59 runs in the final five overs. Mulani was dismissed lbw by Abhilash Shetty in the final over.For Karnataka, Vidyadhar Patil picked up three wickets for 42 runs, while Abhilash Shetty and Vidwath Kaverappa claimed two wickets each.In the chase, Agarwal and Padikkal started cautiously before Karnataka lost their captain in the powerplay. Agarwal edged Mohit Avasthi to slip for 12 off 24 balls. Mumbai then missed two chances to dismiss Padikkal. On 24, he was dropped by Onkar Tarmale at deep fine leg, and later survived another chance at first slip.Padikkal made Mumbai pay and increased the scoring rate, hitting boundaries through the leg side. He and Nair added 143 runs for the second wicket in 150 balls.Nair returned to form with a half-century off 44 balls, his third fifty of the tournament and 16th in List A cricket. Mumbai used seven bowlers, but apart from Avasthi’s early wicket, none could make further breakthroughs.Karnataka had earlier topped Elite Group A with six wins from seven matches and continued their strong run with this victory.
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