Vidarbha Shines: Mokhade’s Century and Nalkande’s Five-Wicket Haul Propel Team to Final

Opener Aman Mokhade scored his fifth century of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy with an impressive 138 runs off 122 balls (including 12 fours and 2 sixes), as Vidarbha convincingly defeated reigning champions Karnataka by six wickets to secure a spot in their second consecutive final. This match took place at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Thursday.

Vidarbha will face the winner of the Punjab-Saurashtra semifinal, scheduled for Friday, in Sunday’s final match. They are aiming to capture their first domestic 50-over title after falling short in the previous season’s finale.

Harsh Dubey’s squad demonstrated a dominant performance against Karnataka, sealing victory with over three overs remaining, thereby bolstering their championship hopes.

Despite losing the toss, Vidarbha bowled excellently to limit Karnataka’s strong batting lineup to just 280 runs before confidently chasing down the target.

Mokhade’s outstanding innings also propelled him past Devdutt Padikkal to become the leading run-scorer of this edition, accumulating 781 runs.

Karnataka was at a disadvantage as middle-order batter R. Smaran missed the match due to a shoulder injury, and pacer V. Vyshak bowled only four overs due to a concussion from an incident during their batting innings.

Nonetheless, Vidarbha’s victory was a testament to their strategy and execution. Mokhade played a flawless inning, scoring fluidly against various bowlers, notably collecting 37 runs off Shreyas Gopal’s leg-spin in just 28 balls, and hitting a memorable hooked six off speedster Vidwath Kaverappa.

Mokhade partnered with former Karnataka batter R. Samarth, who scored an unbeaten 76 runs, to construct a decisive 147-run partnership for the third wicket, dismantling Mayank Agarwal’s formidable side.

Earlier, after choosing to bat, Karnataka endured a difficult start. In-form Padikkal struggled against the disciplined bowling of Yash Thakur and Nachiket Bhute, leading to tight lines and significant pressure.

This pressure resulted in wickets; Agarwal was adjudged leg-before on review off Bhute, and Padikkal was caught behind off Thakur, leaving Karnataka at 20 for two.

Vidarbha’s Darshan Nalkande claimed five crucial wickets, preventing any late resurgence from Karnataka.

While Karnataka’s Dhruv Prabhakar offered a resolute 28 runs, Karun Nair (76) and K.L. Shrijith (54) later counterattacked, forming a 113-run partnership. However, key dismissals at critical junctures derailed their momentum.

From a precarious position of 193 for five, Shreyas and Abhinav Manohar added 55 runs, but Nalkande’s effective bowling chipped away at their resistance, sealing Karnataka’s fate.

Final match details: Karnataka was bowled out for 280 in 49.4 overs (Karun Nair 76, K.L. Shrijith 54, Darshan Nalkande 5/48) while Vidarbha replied with 284/4 in 46.2 overs (Aman Mokhade 138, Dhruv Shorey 47, R. Samarth 76 not out), having lost the toss.

Published on Jan 15, 2026.