Karnataka beat Karun Nair's Vidarbha by 36 runs in final to clinch Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25

Karnataka won the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 with a dramatic 36-run victory over Vidarbha on Saturday. Karnataka, led by Mayank Agarwal, became only the second team in tournament history, after Tamil Nadu, to win five titles.

Ravichandran Smaran's century, along with half-centuries from Krishnan Shrijith and Abhinav Manohar, helped Karnataka record a good total of 348 for 6 as they batted first at Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara. Despite a remarkable effort by in-form opener Dhruv Shorey, who hit his third straight century, and a quick 63 off only 30 balls from Harsh Dubey, Karun Nair's Vidarbha squad was finally bowled out for 312 in 48.2 overs.

This victory marked Karnataka's fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy title in five attempts, equaling Tamil Nadu's record for the most titles in India's premier List A tournament.

Mayank Agarwal raised the trophy high and called on his teammates to join him in celebrating in front of the "Champions" banner. He then took the trophy to the center, posing solo for a few moments before the whole team gathered around him.

"Feeling great, feels amazing to have won this after a while. It's just that we turned up, we won those crucial moments. Lot of the youngsters stepped up. We are a team in transition, four guys from this team have made their debut and lot of them are just playing their second season. Lot of credit to them for stepping up," Mayank said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Theirth Final & it's theirth Title! 

Karnataka beat the spirited Vidarbha side 36 by runs to win the #Final! 

Scorecard  https://t.co/ZZjfWXaajB @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Y7z0Pcho6w

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 18, 2025

"It's a very interesting period for Karnataka, lot of youngsters coming in with great skillsets and mentality. Unbelieveable to be part of this group and to have won the trophy. Was a game-changing partnership, we were 67/3, for them to play with that maturity and take the game deep and then for Abhinav Manohar to come in and play like that," Agarwal added.

Karnataka, led by Mayank Agarwal, wrapped up the group stage with only one loss in seven matches. They then went on to defeat Baroda and Haryana in the knockout rounds, securing a spot in the final against Vidarbha, marking their first final appearance in over five years. The five-time champions triumphed over the previously unbeaten Vidarbha to claim the title. Karnataka first lifted the trophy in the 2013-14 season and successfully defended it the following year. Their third title came in the 2017-18 season, with Agarwal topping the batting charts, while Padikkal shone as the top run-scorer during Karnataka's fourth victory in the 2019-20 season, where they defeated Tamil Nadu.

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