Mayank Agarwal ended his incredible run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on a high note as Karnataka beat Saurashtra in the final by 41 runs at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi on Tuesday (February 27). The 27-year-old scored 90 off 79 balls, including 11 boundaries and 3 sixes, in the all-important final to take his runs tally to 723 runs in the prestigious ODI tournament.

Agarwal amassed the scores of 109, 84, 28, 102, 89, 140, 81 and 90 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018 and in the process he also became the first Indian batsman to score over 700 runs in a List A tournament. He broke the long-standing record of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who had aggregated 673 runs in ICC Cricket World Cup 2003.

Prior to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Mayank had grabbed headlines for scoring 1160 runs at an awe-inspiring average of 105.45 in Ranji Trophy 2017-18. Owing to his stellar show with the willow, the right-handed opener also became the first Indian batsman to score over 2000 runs in a single domestic season.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony after Karnataka’s victory in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final, Mayank thanked the almighty besides expressing gratitude towards his teammates.

"It's been crazy season, that's all I have to say. Very grateful to God and my teammates. I want to thank them, and the selectors who backed me during the bad times,” Agarwal said.

"I am quite happy. Of all the people, I won't complain about the pitch. As the game progressed, the wicket started turning and got a bit slower too.

"Looking forward to the Deodhar Trophy but we're very happy to win this tournament. We'll take it as it comes," he further added.

After being put into bat by Saurashtra skipper Cheteshwar Pujara, Karnataka were bundled out for 253 in 45.5 overs. Besides Agarwal’s 90, Ravikumar Samarth and Pavan Deshpande also contributed with the scores of 48 and 49 runs respectively. Off-spinner Kamlesh Makvana was the pick of the bowler for Saurashtra as he grabbed 4 wickets by giving away just 34 runs in his 8.5 overs.  

In reply, Pujara played a valiant knock of 94 from 127 balls but it went in vain as his team got bowled out for 212 with M Prasidh Krishna and Krishnappa Gowtham picking up three wickets each.