Bengaluru: Karnataka will face Tamil Nadu in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament on Friday (October 25) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

In the semi-finals played on Wednesday (October 23), hosts Karnataka defeated Chhattisgarh by nine wickets at Chinnaswamy Stadium while Tamil Nadu edged Gujarat by five wickets.

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In the first semi-final, it was a dominant performance from Karnataka. The chief architects of the triumph were fast bowler V Koushik (4/46) and batsmen Devdutt Padikkal (92), KL Rahul (88 not out), Mayank Agarwal (47 not out).

After bowling out Chhattisgarh for 223 in 49.4 overs, Karnataka coasted to victory in 40 overs with the loss of one wicket. The former champions scored 229/1.

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Left-handed Padikkal continued his fine run of form in the tournament with his fifth consecutive 50-plus score. He was well set for a century but missed out by eight runs. He hit seven fours and three sixes in his 98-ball knock.

Padikkal and Rahul, who has lost his Test spot, put on 155 runs in 30.5 overs. Rahul was reprieved on 25 and he capitalised on it to remain undefeated on 88 off 111 balls with six fours and one six.

Mayank, who was part of the Indian Test team that won the third game of the Freedom Series yesterday (October 22) in Ranchi to complete a 3-0 clean sweep over South Africa, was in a hurry.  The right-hander hit fours sixes and three fours in his 33-ball 47 not out.

Earlier, Karnataka captain Manish Pandey won the toss and opted to field first in overcast conditions. His decision was justified by his pacemen. Koushik struck in the very first over.

Chhattisgarh were reeling at 96/5. However, the lower order contributed well to take the score past the 200-run mark. Amandeep Khare (78 off 102 balls, 4x4) was the top scorer while Sumit Ruhikar made 40 (37 balls, 1x4, 2x6) at number nine.

In the second semi-final at the Just Cricket Ground in Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu faced some nervous moments before winning in the penultimate over of the match. The contest was reduced to 40 overs per side.

Tamil Nadu successfully chased down 178 thanks to Shahrukh Khan’s unbeaten 56. From a precarious 96/5 in 24.2 overs, Khan and Washington Sundar (27 not out), steered the team into the final.

Koushik took four wickers while Abhimanyu Mithun (2/44), Krishnappa Gowtham (2/30) and Pravin Dubey (2/43) chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Brief Scores

Chhattisgarh 223 all out in 49.4 overs (Amandeep Khare 78, Sumit Ruikar 40, Harpreet Singh 25, V Koushik 4/46, Abhimanyu Mithun 2/44, Krishnappa Gowtham 2/30, Pravin Dubey 2/43) lost to Karnataka 229/1 in 40 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 92, KL Rahul 88 not out, Mayank Agarwal 47 not out)

Gujarat 177/9 in 40 overs (Dhruv Raval 40, Axar Patel 37, Mohammed Saleem 3/23) lost to Tamil Nadu 181/5 in 39 overs (Shahrukh Khan 56 not out, Dinesh Karthik 47, Abhinav Mukund 32, Washington Sundar 27 not out). Match reduced to 40 overs per side due to rain