Karnataka and Saurashtra are through to the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-finals. Both teams won their quarter-final matches in Bengaluru, but rain and bad light played a big part. Karnataka knocked out Mumbai. Saurashtra edged out Uttar Pradesh.
This tournament’s been a high-scoring one. Plenty of records shattered. Batters are having a field day, with 119 centuries already hit across the competition. These quarter-final games kept that energy going, even with the weather. Now we’re set for some big semi-final clashes.
Karnataka Cruises Past Mumbai
Defending champions Karnataka beat Mumbai by 55 runs. They used the VJD method after rain stopped play at the Centre of Excellence. Devdutt Padikkal was brilliant again, finishing unbeaten on 81 runs. Karun Nair also scored 74 not out. Their 144-run partnership for the second wicket was the decider. ESPN reported on the commanding win.
Mumbai batted first, getting 254 for 8. Karnataka bowlers started well. Vidwath Kaverappa and Abhilash Shetty got the new ball moving. Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal chose to field. Mumbai struggled early, falling to 60 for 4 in the 18th over. Padikkal took three catches, too, helping break their batting early.
Shams Mulani and Mumbai skipper Siddhesh Lad tried to steady things. They put on 76 runs for the fifth wicket. Mulani ended up with 86. Sairaj Patil chipped in with a quick 32 off 25 balls. Mumbai scored 59 runs in their last five overs, giving their bowlers something to defend.
Karnataka’s chase started strong. Padikkal hit his fifty off 62 balls. He’s now got over 700 runs in the tournament. Nair reached his half-century in just 44 balls. The players came off for bad light around 4:20 PM local time. Then it started drizzling. Karnataka was well ahead at 187 for 1. The VJD par score was 132 for 1 after 33 overs. Game over.
Padikkal’s form is something else this year. He’s got 640 runs in seven innings, four hundreds, and a half-century. He’s the leading run-scorer. People are talking about him for the 2027 ODI World Cup squad.
Saurashtra Upsets Uttar Pradesh
Saurashtra ended Uttar Pradesh’s undefeated run. They snatched their semi-final spot in the day’s second quarter-final. UP had a tough total, 310 runs. But Saurashtra chased it down. Even with the rain about. NDTV Sports covered the tight contest.
UP’s innings began badly. Aryan Juyal was out for a duck off Chetan Sakariya in the third over. Sakariya got Rituraj Sharma for 12 right after. UP was in trouble early. Deepak Goswami held things together, though. He played a composed innings. Found the boundaries regularly. He stabilized their innings.
Goswami and Priyam Garg built a key stand. Garg made a quick 35. They got UP past 100 runs. Prerak Mankad then hit twice fast. He dismissed Garg, then captain Rinku Singh. That put UP back to 134 for four. Goswami got his half-century. But he fell for 88 in the 34th over. Prasanta Rana stumped him. UP wanted to accelerate then.
Sameer Rizvi really changed the game late on. He attacked in the death overs. Clean striking, smart placement. Rizvi was unbeaten on 88 from 77 balls. He hit 10 fours and two sixes. That pushed UP over the 300-run mark. Prashant Veer added 30 runs. Vipraj Nigam and Zeeshan Ansari also scored fast. Saurashtra’s Sakariya took three wickets. Mankad and Ankur Panwar got two each. But UP’s late surge set an imposing 310.
Saurashtra’s chase was solid. Harvik Desai and Prerak Mankad formed a great partnership. Both players got their half-centuries. They pushed for the target. Desai later brought up his century off 116 balls. Mankad made 67. Times of India’s live updates highlighted their effort. The rain picked up. Saurashtra was 17 runs ahead on VJD method. They sealed their spot in the semi-finals. What a chase.
Soureesh Datta 
Sagnik Banerjee 
Priyanjan Paul