Deodhar Trophy 2018 Final, Review: India B take the title; upstage Karnataka comprehensively

We witnessed another crackerjack of an encounter where India B had too much firepower in their ranks and managed to upstage Karnataka comprehensively to take the title. Karnataka were the favourites to add another trophy to their cabinet but were outclassed in all three aspects, which eventually cost them the match. Shreyas Iyer and his troops managed to outclass Karnataka and were a far better side on the night of the final.

On a turning track, the toss fell in favour of the Karnataka skipper Karun Nair and he asked the opposition to bowl first. For the VHT champions, Karun and Mayank Agarwal started the proceedings but were not able to replicate their last-game effort as both departed early in the innings.

Losing two quick wickets, R Samarth had a huge task in hand and one will have to say, he played yet another dazzling knock to help his side to a comfortable position. It was his ton along with a scintillating knock from middle-order batsman CM Gautam that eventually put Karnataka on course to a respectable total; they managed to post 279 runs on the board. Speedster Khaleel Ahmed and Umesh Yadav managed to pick five wickets between them and proved to be the dangerous duo.

Chasing 279, India B needed just one big knock and a stable partnership to put the otherwise imposing Karnataka bowlers on the backfoot. They made light work of the chase and at no point looked in any sort of discomfort. Openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhimanyu Easwaran provided the team a magnificent start, adding 84 runs together. Gaikwad tried to up the scoring rate which eventually cost him his wicket as he departed for well made 58. Further, almost every batsman got a decent start which ultimately helped them get well within range of the challenging target.

Shreyas Gopal and Stuart Binny did add a wicket or two to their tally but failed to keep the pressure on for long enough to cause jitters in the opposition camp. In the end, it was India B team that held their nerves and eventually managed to get their hand on the coveted title. Thus Karnataka failed to capitalize on the momentum they’ve had in 50-overs cricket this season and end the season on a high.

Brief Scores

Karnataka v India B

Karnataka: 279/8 in 50 overs (R Samarth 107; Khaleel Ahmed 3/49)

India B: 281/4 in 48.2 overs (Abhimanyu 69; Shreyas Gopal 2/55)

Result: India B won by 6 wickets.