Vijay Hazare Trophy: Devdutt Padikkal's imperious form continues as Karnataka book semi-final berth

Devdutt Padikkal found great support from his skipper and opening partner Ravikumar Samarth, who fetched 192 runs from 158 balls to help Karnataka pile a challenging 338/3 in their 50 overs.

Devdutt Padikkal slammed his fourth century at the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. (Twitter)

Devdutt Padikkal's imperious form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy continued on Monday as the star opener slammed yet another ton to help Karnataka progress to the final four of the tournament. In the quarter-final clash between Karnataka and Kerala at the A Stadium in Palam, Padikkal played a knock of 101 from 119 balls. This was Padikkal's fourth century in the domestic 50-over tournament. 

The left-handed batsman found great support from his skipper and opening partner Ravikumar Samarth, who fetched 192 runs from 158 balls to help Karnataka pile a challenging 338/3 in their 50 overs. 

th consecutive  for Devdutt Padikkal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy! 

He. Is. Inevitable #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/HN3Ngay0ZT — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 8, 2021

The pair added 249 runs for the opening wicket, before NP Basil cleaned up Padikkal on 101. Padikkal's innings included ten fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, Karantaka skipper Samarth smashed 22 fours and three maximums. 

Manish Pandey also played a quickfire inning of 34 from 20 balls as the Indian cricketer remained unbeaten, making sure his side post a gigantic first-inning total.  

In response, Kerala were bundled out on 258/10 in 43.4 overs, with Vathsal Govind emerging as the standout batsman from their camp. Govind scored 92 from 96 deliveries and apart from him Mohammed Azharuddeen also scored a half-century. 

Among the bowlers, Karnataka's Ronit More completed a five-wicket haul and finished the contest with clinical figures, which read 5/36 in 9 overs. 

In the second quarter-final being played on Monday, skipper Priyank Panchal's stroke-filled 134 and an equally impressive show from the bowlers set up Gujarat's massive 117-run win over Andhra. 

Gujarat rode on Panchal's 134 to post a competitive 299/7 and then bundled out the opposition for 182, to make it to the semi-final. India Test star and Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari was out for a five-ball duck. 

- with PTI inputs