Karnataka complete hat-trick, win Vijay Hazare Trophy

Agencies/Kolkata Karnataka completed a historic treble at India’s domestic level by emerging champions in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a four-wicket win over Railways in yet another low-scoring affair at Eden Gardens on Sunday.It was their maiden Vijay Hazare title, India’s premier domestic one-day tournament. They also completed a hat-trick of titles this season and added another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet to go with the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Cup.Chasing 158, Karnataka had a jittery start after they lost five wickets in 26 runs as they slumped to 47/5 in the 12th over. But sensible batting by youngsters Karun Nair (53 not out) and Lokesh Rahul (38) set up the chase with a 66-run partnership.After Rahul’s fall, the 22-year-old Nair, who made the first-class debut this season, showed the right temperament as his unbeaten half-century, third in List A, saw the team through with seven overs to spare. Despite the small total to defend, the Railways pacer duo of Anureet Singh and Krishna Kant Upadhyay did not give up their hope as they ripped apart the top order bowling in 14 overs.R Vinay Kumar promoted him to the crucial No 3, a move that faltered badly with Upadhyay (7-2-27-3) and Anureet (7-1-28-2) blazing all guns.Earlier, No. 8 batsman Rongsen Jonathan topscored for Railways as his gritty 46 from 57 balls (3x4) helped them recover from being 83/7 to 157 all out in 47.4 overs after they were asked to bat on the Eden green top.It was a pathetic display from the Railways top and middle-order batsmen until Jonathan’s positive intent put them past 150. First, he stitched a crucial 38-run eighth wicket stand from 60 balls with Amit Mishra, while with Anureet he added a brisk 34 from 35 balls to give the much-needed push to their total.For Karnataka, Abimanyu Mithun took 4 for 19, while part-timer Uthappa and Abar Kazi claimed two wickets apiece.Brief Scores:Railways  157 in 47.4 overs (R Jonathan 46, A Ghosh 33; A Mithun 4-19, Abar Kazi 2-27, Robin Uthappa 2-19) lost to  Karnataka 158/6 in 43 overs (Karun Nair 53 not out, KL Rahul 38; KK Upadhyay 3/30, Anureet Singh 2/41).