Ahmedabad, Dec 24 (IANS) Karnataka accomplished the second-highest run chase in the history of List-A cricket after chasing down an almost impossible target of 413 runs with fifteen balls remaining against Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

This chase now stands as the second-highest successful chase in List-A history, trailing just behind South Africa's record-setting chase of 435 runs against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006.

Karnataka's historic chase was led by Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a majestic hundred. The left-handed batter scored 147 runs off 118 balls with 10 fours and seven sixes. He controlled the innings and struck the ball exceptionally cleanly, even with the required run rate throughout the majority of the innings hovering above 8 runs per over.

Earlier, Jharkhand captain Ishan Kishan scored a century in just 33 balls--the second fastest in Indian List-A history, propelling his team past 400 runs and making it appear that the run chase could not be done in the List-A format.

Karnataka's batting order responded to the challenge of the chase with as much intent and aggression as the bowling side did. It was Mayank Agarwal (54) who provided early momentum to the innings with a fluent half-century. In contrast, Abhinav Manohar (56), who is known for his powerful batting style, also contributed a quick strike rate through the middle of the innings with a further quick half-century.

Thanks to these two players, Karnataka was able to keep the run rate within reasonable limits for the innings.

Dhruv Prabhakar finished the innings off with an impressive performance on his List-A debut with an unbeaten 40, showing great maturity and poise for someone so young.

His ability to find and exploit gaps, as well as efficiently rotate the strike, enabled Karnataka to complete the chase and achieve victory in a commanding style.

With this successful chase, Karnataka has entered the List-A record books, with only South Africa's 435 against Australia currently ranked higher. Karnataka's successful chase is now listed ahead of several well-known teams, including Queensland, Karachi, and Middlesex.

--IANS

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