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The wounds of ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 final are still fresh. On a slow pitch, Indian batters struggled in middle overs and posted a below par 240 which was chased down by Australia with seven overs to spare. A few days after the defeat, Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal wreaked havoc at Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground in Ahmedabad. On the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023 opening day, Agarwal smashed 11 fours and eight sixes in his 157-run knock. He shared a 267-run opening partnership with Samarth R who scored a century as well. Karnataka posted a big total of 402 on the board which was too much for Jammu and Kashmir side as they lost by 222 runs.
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Agarwal won the toss and opted to bat first. Samarth and Agarwal went after J & K pacers Rasikh Salam, Yudhvir Singh, and Umran Malik. They liked the pace and attacked once settled. J & K bowlers failed to take wickets in the middle overs to make a comeback. Only left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq was economical as he conceded 46 runs from 10 overs he bowled.
Both Samarth and Agarwal reached their respective centuries. The partnership was broken in the 39th over of the innings. Samarth got bowled by Salam. He scored 123 runs from 120 balls featuring 11 fours and two sixes. Devdutt Padikkal capitalised on the platform set by the openers. Agarwal continued to pile on runs as well. He completed his 150. In the 44th over, he got stumped off right-arm off-spinner Sahil Lotra's bowling. He scored 157 runs from 133 balls.
Padikkal and Manish Pandey attacked a hapless J & K bowling lineup in the slog overs. Padikkal smashed five sixes and four fours in his unbeaten 35-ball 71. On the other end, Manish Pandey contributed with a 14-ball 23 cameo as Karnataka posted 402/2 on the board.
In the run chase, opener Qamran Iqbal departed for a single-digit score in the fourth over. Vasuki Koushik got the first wicket. Skipper Shubham Khajuria and Vivrant Sharma tried to get things back on track. The partnership was broken in the 11th over by Vijaykumar Vyshak. Khajuria departed after scoring 29 runs from 24 balls. Vyshak struck thrice to dismiss Henan Nazir Malik, Abdul Samad, and wicketkeeper-batter Fazil Rashid for single-digit scores. J & K were reduced to 80/5 in the 15th over.
Then spinners operated. Jagadeesha Suchith ended Vivrant's stay at the crease. He scored 41 runs from 46 balls. Krishnappa Gowtham got the wickets of Lotra and Mushtaq. After 109/8, Yudhvir went berserk as he smashed six sixes and four fours in his 39-ball 64. Vidwath Kaverappa ended his fighting knock. Malik did not turn up to bat as he was injured. J & K were bowled out for 180 in the 31st over as they lost the match by a massive margin of 222 runs.
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