A combined batting effort helped India B beat Karnataka by six wickets in the Deodhar Trophy final at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday. Chasing 279/8, India B got off to a flying start as openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (58) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (69) forged an 84-run partnership before Gaikwad was dismissed.
G.H. Vihari (21), skipper Shreyas Iyer (61) and Manoj Tiwary (59) also contributed handsomely for the cause and India B chased down the target in 48.2 overs. For Karnataka, Shreyas Gopal took two wickets for 55 runs.
Earlier, opting to bat, Ravikumar Samarth (107) and middle-order batsmen C.M. Gautam (76) helped Karnataka score 279 in their allotted 20 overs.
Apart from them, Gopal also contributed at the end. Gopal played 22 balls and scored a crucial 38 runs which included four boundaries and one six.
For India B, K. Khaleel Ahmed took three wickets while Umesh Yadav scalped two.
Brief scores: Karnataka 279/8 (Ravikumar Samarth 107, C.M. Gautam 76; K Khaleel Ahmed 3/49) against India B 281/4 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 69, Manoj Tiwary 59 not out; Shreyas Gopal 2/55).
