Vidarbha booked their place in the final of the 2025-2026 Vijay Hazare Trophy with a solid six-wicket win over defending champions Karnataka on January 15 in Bengaluru.
The semi-final was played at the BCCI Center of Excellence, and the win helped Vidarbha avenge their loss to Karnataka in last season’s final. The chase was led by opener Aman Mokhade, who played one of the best strokes of the tournament.
Vidarbha did well with the ball first after Karnataka opted to bat. Pacer Darshan Nalkande produced a career-best spell of 5 for 48, breaching the middle and lower order and keeping the total in check.
Karnataka were steady after early wickets, thanks to a strong recovery stand between Karun Nair and KL Shrijith. The pair added 113 runs and helped their team reach a good position mid-innings.
However, the momentum changed after Nair’s dismissal. Karnataka slumped from 187 to 3, scoring just 93 runs for their last seven wickets. They were bowled out for 280 in 49.4 overs.
In reply, Vidarbha lost a couple of early wickets but Mokhade kept the chase calm and collected. He played with confidence, mixing patience with clean stroke play.
Mokhade hit 138 off 122 balls, hitting 12 fours and two sixes. It was his fifth century of the season, and it also made him the leading run-scorer of the tournament, over Devdutt Padikkal.
He found strong support from Ravikumar Samarth, a former Karnataka player, who played a mature knock. The duo put together a match-defining partnership of 147 runs for the third wicket.
Samarth remained unbeaten on 76 off 69 balls and ended the match in style with the winning boundary. Vidarbha reached the target with 22 balls to spare, underscoring their control in the chase.
This win takes Vidarbha to their second consecutive Vijay Hazare Trophy final, showing their consistency in the 50-over format this season.
Vidarbha will now face the winner of the second semi-final between Punjab and Saurashtra in the title clash.
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