Prasidh hits hapless Assam for a six

Following up their convincing victory against Baroda  on Wednesday, Karnataka hardly broke a sweat during another comprehensive win -- against Assam -- in their Group 'A' Vijay Hazare Trophy tie here at the Just Cricket ground  on Thursday.    

The hosts outplayed Gokul Sharma's men in all departments to post a 111-run victory and stay at the top of the table with eight points. Karnataka went in without their regular skipper R Vinay Kumar and wicketkeeper C M Gautam. Vinay was rested while Gautam sat out due to a left thumb injury but the absence of the experienced duo made little difference to Karnataka.

Young paceman Prasidh Krishna led the home attack, with a six-wicket haul (6/33) while Vinay's replacement -- right-arm pacer T Pradeep -- claimed 2/43.  All-rounder Anirudha Johsi took Gautam's place while KL Rahul kept wickets.  

After a rest day on Friday, the two-time champions face Haryana at the Alur (1) ground  on Saturday.

Barring Rahul (22), who failed to convert his start, it was a robust performance from the top order as Karnataka amassed 303/6 in the allotted 50 overs. Mayank Agarwal, who seems to be in a different zone altogether, struck a solid 84 (87b, 10x4, 2x6). Stand-in skipper Karun Nair (58, 57b, 6x4, 1x6) and R Samarth (70 n.o., 61b, 4x4, 1x6) essayed quality knocks against an average bowling attack.

Needing a little over six runs per over, it was always going to be difficult for the Assam batting unit and it crumbled under the weight of a disciplined bowling show from Karnataka. Prasidh fine first spell of 5-25-0-3 derailed Assam's chase. The visitors never recovered from there on and his second spell of 3-0-7-2 brought the end of Assam as they were skittled out for 192.

A trainee at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, Prasidh shot into limelight when he bagged a fifer against Bangladesh 'A' in what was his debut first-class game in 2015. "I worked hard before this tournament and I am glad my efforts paid off. There exists a stiff competition in the Karnataka side so it's really nice to make an impact. I want to remain focused on my job and keep contributing to the team," the 21-year old said.

Earlier, openers Rahul and Agarwal ensured there were no early hiccups with a 58-run stand. Rahul timed the ball well and looked untroubled but one loose shot and a brilliant piece of fielding from Abhishek Thakuri ended the right-hander's innings. Rahul uppishly cut a short ball off left-arm seamer Mrinmoy Dutta towards third man and Thakuri ran to his right and caught the ball on the edge of the boundary. Fearing he would fall on the boundary rope, Thakuri threw the ball in the air and then regained balance to pouch it again.

There was no dip in Karnataka's run flow as Karun and Agarwal stitched a 51-ball 50 runs partnership. Karun emerged out of a cautious start with two continuous fours off Mrinmoy and dealt the spinners with well-executed sweep shots. Agarwal, who took 53 balls to reach his half-century, slammed two straight sixes – one each to spinners Jitumoni Kalita and Gokul Sharma. Agarwal was moving along nicely towards his second ton of the tournament but, in a case of self-destruction, he tried a cheeky late cut to seamer Riyan Parag and was out caught behind.

Samarth's ability to anchor the innings was once again at display and his 88-run stand with Pavan Deshpande (43) took Karnataka past 300.