Lokesh Rahul`s unbeaten ton takes Karnataka to Hazare quarters

Visakhapatnam: Opener Lokesh Rahul struck an unbeaten century as Karntaka comfortably beat Uttar Pradesh by seven wickets to enter the quarter-finals of the National One Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Put into bat, UP managed only 194 in 45.2 overs with seamer HS Sharath taking three wickets and left-arm spinner KP Appanna chipping in with two wickets. Karnataka reached the target in 32 overs with opener Rahul hitting an unbeaten 104 off 152 balls with six fours and three sixes. He added 119 runs for the third wicket with veteran Ganesh Satish (53). Karnataka will take on defending champions Bengal in the quarterfinal slated on Thursday. For UP, their reputed players like skipper Suresh Raina (13), veteran Mohammed Kaif (37), U-19 World Cup winner Akshdeep Nath (29) all got starts but couldn`t convert it into big scores losing wickets at regular intervals. Brief Scores: UP 194 all out in 45.2 overs (Mohd Kaif 37, HS Sharath 3/46, KP Appanna 2/42). Karnataka 197/3 in 32 overs (Lokesh Rahul 104 no, G Satish 53). Karnataka won by 7 wkts. Quarter final line-up: Karnataka vs Bengal. PTI