Bangalore: K L Rahul hit 88 (111 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) and shared a century partnership with fellow opener Devdutt Padikkal (92) to power Karnataka to a nine wicket over Chhattisgarh and into the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Wednesday,where it will face Tamil Nadu, which beat Gujarat by five wickets in the other semifinal. Chasing 224 for victory, the host romped home in 40 overs as Rahul and Padikkal and then Mayank Agarwal (47, 33 balls, 3 fours, 4 sixes) toyed with the Chhattisgarh attack.

Batting first, Chattisgarh was in trouble at 19 for 2 and 35 for 3 as medium-pacer V Koushik (4/46) did all the damage, removing the openers-Jiwanjot Singh (6) and Shashank Singh for a duck. Later, he got Ashutosh Singh (20), who was playing well to nick one to 'keeper Rahul as Karnataka reduced the opponent to 35 for 3 in the 11th over. Skipper Harpreet Singh Bhatia, who has been one of the mainstays of the Chhattisgarh batting in the tournament, which included an upset win over Mumbai in the league, was involved in a 40-run stand with Amandeep Khare (78, 102 balls,4 fours).