NEW DELHI: Defending champions Karnataka booked their place in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinals for the fourth year in a row, registering a commanding 55-run win over Mumbai via the VJD method in Bengaluru on Monday.

Chasing a modest target of 255, Karnataka were in complete control at 187 for 1 in 33 overs when rain brought proceedings to a halt. Devdutt Padikkal led the charge with an unbeaten 81 off 95 balls, while experienced batter Karun Nair remained not out on 74 from 80 deliveries. With the VJD par score at that stage set at 132, Karnataka were comfortably 55 runs ahead and were declared winners.

Earlier, Mumbai were dealt a significant blow even before the match began, with leading run-scorer Sarfaraz Khan ruled out after injuring his finger during a net session. The setback added to their woes, as pacer Tushar Deshpande was already unavailable due to personal reasons.

After being put in to bat by Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal, Mumbai struggled to build momentum and could only manage 254 for 8. Shams Mulani produced a fighting knock of 86 to anchor the innings following a top-order collapse that left Mumbai reeling at 60 for 4. He later stitched together a 76-run stand for the sixth wicket with skipper Siddhesh Lad, who contributed 38 off 58 balls, to give Mumbai some respectability.

After Lad's dismissal, Shedge and Kotian fell in quick succession, but Mulani held firm, scoring 86 from 91 balls with eight boundaries. Mulani took 68 balls to reach his fifty, but stepped up in the death after getting support from Sairaj Patil (33 not out off 25 balls; 5x4, 1x6), as Mumbai smashed 59 runs in the last five overs.

Patil's late assault gave the Mumbai bowlers something to defend. Mulani was trapped lbw by Abhilash Shetty in the final over, ending his determined knock. For Karnataka, Vidyadhar Patil returned 3/42, while Abhilash Shetty and Vidwath Kaverappa picked up two wickets each.

In reply, Agarwal and Padikkal began cautiously before Karnataka lost their skipper inside the powerplay. Agarwal, Karnataka's second-highest run-getter this season with two centuries and two fifties, edged Mohit Avasthi to slip for 12 off 24 balls.

Mumbai's cause was further hurt by sloppy fielding, as the in-form Padikkal was given two reprieves. Avasthi induced a thick outside edge from Padikkal that flew to Raghuvanshi at first slip, but the chance was wasted.

Earlier, on 24, Onkar Tarmale spilled a straightforward chance running in from deep fine leg. Padikkal made Mumbai pay for those mistakes on the field.

The tall left-hander, who now has 715 runs from eight innings with four hundreds and two fifties at an average of 102.14 this season, went on the offensive, pulling Sairaj Patil over midwicket and then flicking him through the same region.

From thereon, there was no stopping Karnataka as Padikkal and Nair added 143 runs off 150 balls for the second wicket.

Nair, who had endured a lean run with scores of 0, 14 and 10 in his previous three innings, returned to form with a fluent 44-ball fifty -- his third of the tournament and 16th in List A cricket.

He looked in complete control, whether in defence or attack, and dissected the field with ease.

Mumbai tried as many as seven bowlers, but apart from Avasthi's early strike, none could make any impact.

Karnataka had earlier topped Elite Group 'A' with six wins from seven matches.

Brief Scores

Mumbai 254/8; 50 overs (Shams Mulani 86; Vidyadhar Patil 3/42, Vidwath Kaverappa 2/43, Abhilash Shetty 2/59) lost to Karnataka 187/1; 33 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 81 not out, Karun Nair 74 not out) by 54 runs via VJD method.