Ahmedabad: Karnataka defended their title in grand style after their top-order led by centurion Mayank Agarwal rose to the occasion to crush a hapless Punjab by 156 runs in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament final, here today.

Put into bat in the day-night encounter at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Karnataka rode on a 162-run opening partnership between Agarwal (125) and Robin Uthappa (87) to post an imposing 359 for seven.