Pujara in the firing-line as Karnataka seal Vijay Hazare Trophy

Cheteshwar Pujara, the Saurashtra skipper has come into the firing line for his painstaking batting. Riding on the bradmanesque form of Mayank Agarwal ( 90 off 79 balls), who powered his way to another magnanimous performance, Karnataka piled a competitive 253 in 50 overs.

In reply, Saurashtra had an abysmal start to their run chase, as they lost two quick wickets in the opening spell of Prasidh Krishna. In walked captain Pujara, with an aim to steady the fledgling innings. In the absence of any substantial support from other batsmen, Pujara‘s innings masqueraded as dogged and at times slow that took the required run-rate to magnanimous proportions.

Karnataka continued picking wickets at regular intervals and when Jaydev Unadkat dismissed Gowtham, Pujara had to switch gears. His efforts proved too late though as the required run-rate climbed too high. Pujara’s misery was cut short when a throw from mid-wicket by Karun Nair sent him packing. Following Pujara‘s dismissal, Karnataka rapped up the proceedings shortly, setting up the third title win for the southern state.