12 March,2021 07:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Prithvi Shaw. Pic/AFP
Riding on skipper Prithvi Shaw's âcalculated' century, Mumbai thrashed Karnataka by 72 runs to enter the Vijay Hazare Trophy final on Thursday.
Shaw, 21, who smashed 17 fours and seven sixes in his 122-ball 165-run knock, registered his fourth century of the tournament. With 754 runs under his belt, Shaw became the highest run-scorer in a single edition of the domestic one-day tournament, surpassing Karnataka's Mayank Agarwal's tally of 723 runs during the 2018 edition.
Describing his century knock, Shaw speaking to mid-day from New Delhi, said: "It was not an attacking knock. The ball was moving initially, so I played cautiously. I changed gears after the 10th over, but when Aditya Tare [16] got out, I stopped playing shots for another three to four overs. So, I think I played a calculated knock."
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Put into bat, Mumbai posted 322 in 49.2 overs. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani, who was promoted to No. 4, was the second-highest run getter with 45 after Shaw.
In reply, Karnataka managed to score 250 in 43 overs with in-form opener Devdutt Padikkal scoring run-a-ball 64.
Shaw was determined to put up his best show after the Australia tour disappointment. "It was on my mind that I had to do something big, put up a dominating show to make a comeback [in the Indian team]. I don't know whether I will get to play [in the ODI series against England]. I have scored runs, but now it all depends on the selectors. I will continue to give my best wherever I play," Shaw said.
"When I was on the bench during the Australia tour, I kept working hard in the nets and also when I returned to Mumbai. I accepted my mistakes and worked on them. Those were minor errors, but it made a very big difference in my batting. Now, I am comfortable as I have cleared all those doubts and it has resulted in my consistence performances," noted Shaw.
Brief scores
Mumbai 322 all out in 49.2 overs (P Shaw 165, S Mulani 45; Vyshak V 4-56, P Krishna 3-64) beat Karnataka 250 all out in 42.4 overs (D Padikkal 64, Sharath 61; T Kotian 2-23, T Deshpande 2-37) by 72 runs
