Ka-run machine fires again, takes Vidarbha to semis

Nagpur: The Vidarbha dugout bowed in unison as Karun Nair pulled a Khaleel Ahmed delivery for a boundary to reach his hundred against Rajasthan on Sunday. The salutation was as much for the match-winning knock of 122* (82b; 13x4;5x6) as for the phenomenal run-streak the captain has scripted in this season's Vijay Hazare Trophy.In the same over, 43rd of the 292-run chase, Nair hit two more fours and as many sixes to bring Vidarbha to the cusp of a win. Dhruv Shorey (118*;131b;10x4;3x6), the other centurion of the quarterfinal match at Motibaug Cricket Stadium in Vadodara, swatted Mahipal Lomror to the boundary to book Vidarbha's last four spot.Vidarbha last made it to the semifinal of the 50-over tournament in 2010-11. The 14-year wait has ended, thanks largely to one man, Nair. After being appointed as skipper, Nair has hit a purple patch. His last four innings have all produced centuries, three of them being unbeaten knocks. Nair started the tournament with 112 not out against J&K, and now has jaw-dropping 664 runs, and same average, from six innings.On Sunday, Nair joined Shorey after the fall of opener Yash Rathod (39;49b;5x4) in the 19th over. Nair swept Suthar for his first boundary, on the third ball he faced, to take Vidarbha past the 100-run mark in the 20th over. His last boundary, a short-arm pull to a Khaleel delivery on the last ball of the 43rd over, took Vidarbha to 288, just four short of the victory target.In between these two boundaries, Nair along with Shorey added 200 runs in the span of 25.2 overs. The phase saw Shorey post his first List ‘A' century of the season as Vidarbha posted its seventh win in as many matches of this season's Vijay Hazare Trophy.Nair controlled the chase to perfection. His 50 came in 48 balls, after which he pressed the accelerator big time. In the next 34 balls he faced, Nair piled up 72 runs, hitting nine fours and four sixes to seal Rajasthan's fate.Like the end, Rajasthan's start too wasn't a perfect one. With Vidarbha pacers — led by Yash Thakur who snapped a four-for — hitting the right areas, Rajasthan managed just 131 for 4 in 30 overs at a run rate of 4.37.They managed to put up a challenging total of 291 thanks to the late flourish provided by Kartik Sharma (62;61b), Shubham Garhwal (59;59b) and Deepak Chahar (31;14b).BRIEF SCORESRajasthan: 291 for 8 in 50 overs (Kartik Sharma 62, Shubham Garhwal 59, Deepak Hooda 45; Deepak Chahar 31*; Yash Thakur 4-39; Nachiket Bhute 1-53, Darshan Nalkande 1-58) lost to Vidarbha: 292 for 1 in 43.3 overs (Karun Nair 122*; Dhruv Shorey 118*, Yash Rathod 39; Ajay Kukna 1-40) by nine wickets.