Thaindian News

Chennai, Aug 28 (IANS) Kerala hunted down a 398-run target to upstage Saurashtra by four wickets here Tuesday and qualify for the semi-finals of the Buchi Babu trophy All-India cricket tournament.

In the semi-finals later this week, Kerala take on Baroda who crushed Maharashtra by 154 runs while Karnataka, who edged out TNCA President’s XI by four wickets, face Mumbai who got past Odisha by 112 runs.

Kerala batting came good as openers Abhishek Hegde (47) and V.A. Jagadeesh put on 78 runs in 19 overs to lay a solid foundation. Thereafter, Sanju Viswanath (66), Sachin Baby (74) and Ralphi Vincent Gomez (68) chipped in with half-centuries to help Kerala overhaul Saurashtra’s total of 397 in the 88th over.

Meanwhile, leg-spinner Sagar Gorivale took 6 for 42 as Mumbai restricted Odisha to 145 to run out easy winners and Karnataka showcased their depth in batting to overhaul TNCA President’s XI total of 233 with four wickets to spare.

For Karnataka, Amit Verma scored an unbeaten 82 not out and he added 107 for the fourth wicket with Manish Pandey (59) after openers Robin Uthappa (39) and KB. Pawan (37) provided a solid start with a 74-run partnership.

Sangram Atitkar’s fighting 96 was the only consolation for Maharashtra who otherwise collapsed for 185 in reply to Baroda’s 339.

Brief scores (all quarter-finals):

Mumbai 257 in 89.5 overs beat Odisha 145 in 51.5 overs (Sujit Lenka 26, Deepak Behera 26, Paresh Patel 24, Haladhar Das 24, Sagar Gorivale 6 for 42, Gaurav Jathar 2 for 18) by 112 runs.

Baroda 339 in 87.3 overs beat Maharashtra 185 in 58 overs (Sangram Atitkar 96, Murtuja Vahora 3 for 17, Ketul Patel 3for 58, Bharghav Bhatt 3 for 64) by 154 runs.

TNCA President’s XI 233 in 89.5 overs lost to Karnataka 237 for 6 in 70.3 overs (KB Pawan 37, Robin Uthappa 39, Manish Pandey 59, Amit Verma 82 not out, A Aswin Crist 4 for 49, R Aushik Srinivas 2 for 91) by 4 wickets.

Saurashtra 397 for 9 in 90 overs lost to Kerala 399 for 7 in 87.3 overs (Abhishek Hegde 47, VA Jagadeesh 44, Sanju Viswanadh 66, Robert Fernandez 24, Sachin Baby 74, Ralphi Vincent Gomez 68, Manu Krishnan 35 not out, S Anish 33 not out, Vishal Joshi 4 for 107, Nayan Doshi 3 for 106) by 3 wickets.