Hyderabad: Karnataka emerged triumphant against Vidarbha by 36 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25 final played at the Kotambi Stadium in Vadodara on Saturday, January 19, 2025. This marks Karnataka's fifth Vijay Hazare Trophy title win.
Ravichandran Smaran smashed his second List A hundred to help Karnataka post a mammoth 349-run target in the summit clash. Vidarbha opener Dhruv Shorey fought hard with his third successive hundred in the knockout stages but it wasn't enough to take his team over the line. The Karun Nair-led side was bowled out for 312, eventually losing by 36 runs.
𝗖. 𝗛. 𝗔. 𝗠. 𝗣. 𝗜. 𝗢. 𝗡. 𝗦 🏆
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 18, 2025
Congratulations & a round of applause for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 Champions - Karnataka 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/ZZjfWXaajB#VijayHazareTrophy | #Final | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/p6TXO12AiO
Left-handed Smaran smashed his way to 101 off just 92 balls, while the relatively unknown keeper-batter Krishnan Srijith contributed a gritty 78 off 74 deliveries. T20 specialist Abhinav Manohar then delivered a late cameo, hammering 79 off just 42 balls to propel Karnataka to an imposing 348 for 6 in 50 overs.
𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 #𝗩𝗶𝗷𝗮𝘆𝗛𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀! 🏆 👏
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 18, 2025
Their 5⃣th Final & it's their5⃣th Title! 🙌 🙌
Karnataka beat the spirited Vidarbha side 36 by runs to win the #Final! 👌 👌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/ZZjfWXaajB @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Y7z0Pcho6w
In reply, Vidarbha, unbeaten through the group stage, struggled as most batters beyond the top three failed to make an impact. However, all-rounder Harsh Dubey injected late drama with a blistering 63 off 30 balls, smashing five sixes and as many fours, before Vidarbha were dismissed for 312 in 48.2 overs.
"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.
"It's a very interesting period for Karnataka, lot of youngsters coming in with great skillsets and mentality. Unbelievable 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.
Mayank Agarwal-led Karnataka finished the group stage with just one loss in seven matches, then defeated Baroda and Haryana in the knockouts to storm into the finals, their first in over five years. The 5-time champions then overcame the unbeaten Vidarbha to win the title.
Karnataka first won the tournament in the 2013-14 season and successfully defended their title the following year. Their third title came in the 2017-18 season, with Agarwal leading the batting charts, while Padikkal emerged as the top run-scorer during Karnataka's fourth triumph in the 2019-20 season, defeating Tamil Nadu.
Alongside Karnataka, only Tamil Nadu (3), Mumbai (2), and Saurashtra (2) have claimed multiple titles during this period. Former Karnataka batter and Vidarbha captain Karun Nair emerged as the tournament's leading run-scorer, amassing 779 runs with five centuries and a fifty. Meanwhile, India and Punjab pacer Arshdeep Singh topped the bowling charts with 20 wickets.
