Shivang''s five-for helps MP defeat Karnataka and sail into VHT quarterfinals

Little-known left-arm spinner Shivang Kumar delivered a career-best five-wicket haul as Madhya Pradesh registered a comfortable seven-wicket victory over star-studded Karnataka to book a place in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinals from Group A here on Thursday.

Following the win, Madhya Pradesh -- who finished their group campaign with 20 points from seven games -- became the second team to secure a place in the VHT knockouts, behind Karnataka (24 points), who had already sealed their berth after the sixth round under Mayank Agarwal's leadership on Tuesday.

Kerala and Jharkhand, who were tied on 16 points with MP after the sixth round of matches on Tuesday, lost their games on Thursday to see their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals evaporate.

The 26-year-old Shivang, featuring in just his third List A match, delivered a standout performance with figures of 5 for 45 in 10 overs. His spell snapped Karnataka's six-match winning streak, as they were bowled out for 207 in 47.4 overs -- an impressive feat given their dominance in the group this season, led by the prolific Devdutt Padikkal and Mayank Agarwal.

Chasing the target, Madhya Pradesh made light work of the run chase, reaching the target in 23.2 overs with just three wickets down to seal qualification ahead of Kerala and Jharkhand.

Openers Yash Dubey (40) and Himanshu Mantri (34) laid a solid foundation with a 78-run stand before skipper Venkatesh Iyer's unbeaten 65 guided Madhya Pradesh to a comfortable chase, finishing with 160 balls to spare.

Out-of-favour India batter Devdutt Padikkal, who has struck four centuries this season and narrowly missed a fifth by nine runs, was the first to fall, clean bowled by right-arm pacer Tripuresh Singh. That breakthrough opened the floodgates, with Shivang tearing through Karnataka's middle order.

Shivang, who was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad at his base price of Rs 30 lakh in the IPL 2026 mini auction recently, proved to be the differentiating factor, consistently picking up wickets at crucial junctures to thwart any late-order scoring surge.

Kerala's hopes go up in smoke =================== Kerala's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage from the group went up in smoke as Tamil Nadu defeated them by 77 runs. TN skipper Narayan Jagadeesan smashed a superb 139 to help his team post an imposing total of 294. The bowlers then did the rest, with Sachin Rathi (4/52) and Mohamed Ali (4/36) leading a ruthless attack that bundled Kerala out for 217 in 40.2 overs.

Had Kerala won the match, they would have taken their points tally to 20 and drawn level with Madhya Pradesh, with net run rate deciding the second quarterfinalist from the group.

Jharkhand suffer crushing loss =================== Quarterfinal aspirants from the group Jharkhand suffered a crushing 197-run loss at the hands of Tripura, ending their hopes of advancing to the next round.

Tripura piled up a mammoth 320 in 50 overs. Jharkhand then suffered an inexplicable batting collapse to be all out for 123 in 31.1 overs, leaving them stranded on 16 points, whereas a win would have made them contenders for the quarterfinals with MP with Net Run Rate coming into play.

Brief scores: Karnataka 207 in 47.4 overs (Mayank Agarwal 49, Devdutt Padikkal 35; Shivang Kumar 5/45) lost to Madhya Pradesh 208 for 3 in 23.2 overs (Yash Dubey 40, Venkatesh Iyer 65 not out) by seven wickets.

Tamil Nadu 294 for 8 in 50 overs (Narayan Jagadeesan 139; Eden Apple Tom 6/46) beat Kerala 217 in 40.2 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 73; Sachin Rathi 4/52, Mohamed Ali 4/36) by 77 runs.

Tripura 320 in 50 overs (Sridam Paul 150, Rajat Dey 102; Sushant Mishra 6/52) beat Jharkhand 123 in 31.1 overs (Abhijit Sarkar 4/40, Ajay Sarkar 2/23, Swapnil Singh 2/28) by 197 runs.

Rajasthan 269 for 8 in 50 overs (Karan Lamba 108; Sagar Udeshi 3/32) beat Puducherry 137 in 26.5 overs (Nitin Pranaav 56; Danish Bhambhu 3/35) 132 runs.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)