Abhimanyu Mithun claims hat-trick as Karnataka lift Vijay Hazare Trophy

Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun celebrates the wicket of TN's M Ashwin to complete his hat-trick in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. Pic/PTI

Bangalore: KL Rahul presented himself as a potent keeper-batsman option with a strong show while birthday-boy Abhimanyu Mithun savoured a rare hat-trick as Karnataka lifted the Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a 60-run win over Tamil Nadu in the rain-hit final, here yesterday. Rahul remained in the thick of things after hosts elected to field under overcast conditions, contributing in dismissal of four Tamil Nadu batsmen.

Mithun returned with his first ever five-wicket haul in List-A games, which included a hat-trick in the final of the innings. He cleaned up M Shahrukh Khan, M Mohammed and Murugan Ashwin as Tamil Nadu folded for 252 in 49.5 overs. Rahul's batting talent has never been doubted and in the final, which had to be called off due to rain, Rahul scored an unbeaten 52 off 72 balls in Karnataka's total of 146 for one in 23 overs.

He lost his opening partner Devdutt Paddikal (11) but added 112 runs with Mayank Agarwal for the second wicket, keeping Karnataka ahead all the time in the contest.
Eventually, Karnataka were declared winner in the final on VJD method (used in domestic cricket in rain-affected games), giving the hosts their fourth title on domestic ODI tournament. They had won in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2017-18.

Tamil Nadu struggled to put a fighting total with only Abhinav Mukund (86) and Baba Aparajith (66) managing fighting half-centuries.

Ashwin risks fine

New Delhi: R Ashwin risks being fined by match referee Chinmay Sharma for sporting the BCCI logo on his helmet while playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy final. A BCCI official told IANS that it is the match referee's discretion, but the rules say he can be fined for breaking the clothing regulations of the board.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever