Ranji Trophy: 21 wickets tumble as Karnataka-UP quarterfinal hangs in balance
Uttar Pradesh fought back after giving up a first-innings advantage to home favourites Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, which hung in the balance on a day when 21 wickets fell.
Saurabh Kumar (14-4-32-3) relied on his tight bowling to deceive Karnataka, who crumbled to 100 for 8 after gaining a substantial 98-run first innings lead on a tricky KSCA wicket.
India is a 29-year-old woman. A bowler, who returned with 4 for 73 in the first innings, was well-supported by Ankit Rajpoot (8-2-15-2) as Karnataka lost eight wickets in the final session.
Srinivas Sharath, the wicketkeeper-batter, remained undefeated on 10 at stumps as the match entered its third day, with the home team leading by 198 runs with two wickets remaining.
Mayank Agarwal (22), Karun Nair (10) and skipper Manish Pandey (4), the ‘Big Three’ of Karnataka, failed to deliver once more, leaving their second innings in shambles.
Before dismissed by the left-arm spinner, Indian Test opener Agarwal, who overlooked for the forthcoming Edgbaston Test against England, batted with a lot more positive intent and smashed five boundaries in his 29-ball effort.
Karnataka’s middle-order collapsed, with Rajpoot dismissing Nair. And Pandey run out by Karan Sharma, as the team lost six wickets for 33 runs.
Karnataka had bowled out for 253 in the first innings, adding 40 runs to their overnight total. Thanks to Shreyas Gopal’s tenacious unbroken fifty.
Overnight, Gopal remained unbeaten on 56 from 80 balls (6×4, 2×6), bringing their total to above 250.
Uttar Pradesh bowled out for 155 in 38 overs in response.
Ronit More (3/47) was the most dangerous player, with Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vidhwath Kaverappa, and Krishnappa Gowtham each claiming two.
In subsequent overs, Gowtham claimed the wickets of Rinku Singh (33) and Saurabh. While losing another in Prince Yadav (0) without adding to the score.
UP on the verge of being bowled out at 92 for 8. But Shivam Mavi displayed his batting prowess by hitting 32 off 35 balls (3×4, 1×6) to boost their total past 150.
He and Rajpoot (18 not out from 16 balls) put up 44 runs for the last wicket. Boosting Karnataka’s hopes before the bowlers put them on the back foot.
With two wickets in hand, the Karnataka lower-order must maintain their overall lead. So that their spin combo of K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal may take advantage of the conditions.
Brief Scores:
Karnataka 253 (Shreyas Gopal 56 not out; Saurabh Kumar 4/73, Shivam Mavi 3/60) and 100/8 in 34 overs (Saurabh 3/32, Ankit Rajpoot 2/15)
Uttar Pradesh 155 in 37.3 overs (Priyam Garg 39, Rinku Singh 33; Ronit More 3/47)
The post Ranji Trophy: 21 wickets tumble as Karnataka-UP quarterfinal hangs in balance appeared first on CricTelegraph.