Maharashtra not only knocked out Karnataka from the Ranji Trophy but also ended the defending champions’ 37-match unbeaten run on Friday following a 53-run defeat in Pune.
Maharashtra not only knocked out Karnataka from the Ranji Trophy but also ended the defending champions’ 37-match unbeaten run on Friday following a 53-run defeat in Pune.
After giving away first innings points on the second day, Karnataka, resuming at 61/1 in the second innings in chase of 293 on the fourth and final day, were bowled out for 239 at the MCA Stadium.
Only Robin Uthappa (61, 108b, 6x4, 2x6) and CM Gautam (65 n.o, 104b, 7x4) showcased nerves of steel in the crucial game that would have cemented their quarterfinals berth.
Recording their first win of the season, Maharashtra pacer Nikit Bhumal (5/78) and spearhead Anupan Sankalecha (4/65) were the chief wreckers.
With Maharashtra out of contention for the last-eight spot, doomed Karnataka’s hopes, to finish seventh with 17 points while the treble-title winning Karnataka with 24 points, ended fifth with two wins, a loss and five draws from eight games.
Vidarbha, Bengal, Assam made the knockout round from Group A with 29, 28 and 26 points respectively.
Earlier in the day, Mayank Agarwal’s (31) 47-run association with Uthappa ended in the third over as the former was caught behind off Sankalecha.
Manish Pandey departed for a duck while Shreyas Gopal hung around with Uthappa to add 40 runs for the fourth wicket.
Gentle medium pacer Dhumal struck twice in quick succession to pack Gopal and Karun Nair to make it 126/5.
As Gautam and Uthappa slowly kept the scoreboard ticking, Sankalecha trapped the latter leg-before. Karnataka skipper R. Vinay Kumar gave Gautam company in a bid to continue their march to victory to garner 49 runs for the seventh wicket. Even tailender S. Arvind (20) along with Gautam collected 42 runs before Dhumal and Sankalecha cleaned up the lower-order.
Scoreboard Maharashtra (Ist innings): 212 Karnataka (Ist innings): 180 Maharashtra (IInd innings): 260 Karnataka (IInd innings, o/n 61/1): Mayank Agarwal c More b Sanklecha 31, Robin Uthappa lbw b Sanklecha 61, Manish Pandey c Tripathi b Mundhe 0, Shreyas Gopal c Jadhav b Dhumal 19, Karun Nair c & b Dhumal 4, C.M. Gautam (not out) 65, R. Vinay Kumar c More b Dhumal 15, A. Mithun c More b Dhumal 1, S. Aravind c More b Sanklecha 20, H.S. Sharath b Sanklecha 0 Extras: (lb10, wd6) 16 Total: (in 72 overs) 239 FoW: 2-69, 3-74, 4-114, 5-126, 6-146, 7-195, 8-197, 9-239 Bowling: Sanklecha 20-2-65-4, Mundhe 21-4-54-1, Dhumal 25-4-78-5, Tripathi 2-1-5-0, Solanki 3-0-21-0, Khurana 1-0-6-0.
