Karnataka, Saurashtra in Vijay Hazare semis after rain interrupts QFs:Padikkal’s good form knocks out Mumbai, unbeaten Uttar Pradesh eliminated

Karnataka and Saurashtra have entered the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 semi-finals after their respective quarter-final matches were abandoned due to rain. Both matches were played at the BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) CoE (Centre of Excellence). Karnataka secured a 55-run victory over Mumbai via the VJD method after bad light and rain stopped their match in the second innings at CoE Ground 1. At the CoE Ground 2, Saurashtra eliminated an undefeated Uttar Pradesh side via the VJD method in a match where rain played spoilsport. The third and fourth quarter-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy will be played on 13 January. Punjab and Madhya Pradesh will face each other in QF 3 while Delhi and Vidarbha will lock horns in the fourth quarter-final. Also read: ‘No communication from ICC regarding shifting Bangladesh’s matches’:BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia says relocation of T20 World Cup matches ‘beyond our control’ Devdutt Padikkal stars as Karnataka knock out Mumbai Devdutt Padikkal continued his red-hot form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. While chasing a 255-run target, the left-hander struck an unbeaten 81 off 95 deliveries, with 11 fours to his name. He was en route to another century before the match was stopped due to bad light. Mumbai earlier were put to bat first and scored 254/8. Padikkal also stitched an unbeaten 143-run partnership with Karun Nair and their stand put Karnataka well on course to chasing down the 255-run target. The left-handed Padikkal, who is the highest run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season, was deservedly named Player of the Match. Also read: Virat meets his ‘childhood look-alike’ in Vadodara: Mini-Kohli meets team India cricketer, star batter says, ‘You look like my carbon copy’ Saurashtra end unbeaten Uttar Pradesh’s run after Harvik Desai’s century Saurashtra outplayed Uttar Pradesh in the second quarter-final, ending their unbeaten run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. Asked to bat first, Uttar Pradesh made 310/8. Abhishek Goswami and Sameer Rizvi hit 88 runs each. For Saurashtra, Chetan Sakariya was the best bowler with figures of 3/54 in 10 overs. In response, Saurashtra were in control of the chase, with wicketkeeper-batter Harvik Desai scoring an unbeaten century. After rain stopped play, the target was reduced to 222 in 40.1 overs and Saurashtra got past the finish line, winning the match by 17 runs via the VJD method. What is the VJD method? The VJD (V Jayadevan Devised) method is a system of calculating revised targets in rain-affected limited-overs matches. This was named after its creator, an Indian engineer named V Jayadevan from Kerala and was proposed as an alternative to the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method. This system is used in Indian domestic cricket.