Bengaluru: Karnataka cruised to a 10-wicket victory over Rajasthan with a day to spare in their Group C Ranji Trophy match at the Alur (II) Cricket Ground here on Thursday.
Rajasthan came up with a better batting performance in the second innings with Mahipal Lomror’s attacking innings raising hopes of a fightback. But their best wasn’t good enough as Vyshak Vijaykumar (4-73) and K Gowtham (3-72) showed persistence to dismiss the visitors for 330. A 15-run target late in the day was a breeze for the hosts.
The third outright win helped Karnataka earn seven points and establish themselves at the top of the table with 26 points from five matches, virtually assuring them of a spot in the quarterfinals. arnataka, who started the day on 380/8, closed their innings on 445 with Manish Pandey completing his ton (101, 131b, 10x4, 4x6).
A lead of 316 seemed good enough to aim for a win but Karnataka found Lomror (99, 83b, 11x4, 6x6) a tough nut to crack. The left-hander took the Karnataka bowlers to the cleaners, hitting some brilliant boundaries and sixes, and boasting a strike rate of over 150 in the first half of the innings. He was on a song even after lunch, smashing Karnataka bowlers with ease.
But a needless poke outside the off-stump off Vyshak led to his downfall, just one run short of a century with Srinivas Sharath latching on to an easy catch behind the wicket. After some overs, Aditya Garhwal (66, 66b, 9x4, 2x6) was trapped leg before by V Koushik (2/66).
Rajasthan, who were 100/1 at lunch, were reduced to 243/4 after the second session. And, as the game progressed into the final hours of the day, Karnataka sensed an opening with the visitors losing wickets at regular intervals.
GOWTHAM STRIKESMJ Suthar was the first to go, leg before to Gowtham. Despite a brave fight from SV Joshi (63, 79b, 4x4, 2x6), Rajasthan were staring down the barrel as KS Rathore was sent back in the same over by Gowtham for a duck with the team on 299/7. They were eventually bundled out for 330 as Rajasthan skipper Ashok Menaria was absent hurt. Karnataka got an extended final session to complete the formalities.
Mayank Agarwal’s men will next meet Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram, starting January 17. They have made one change for their away game, Vishal Onat being excluded from the squad.
SCOREBOARD Rajasthan (I Innings) 129Karnataka (I Innings, o/n 380/8): Manish Pandey st Joshi b Suthar 101, Vidwath Kaverappa b Khan 37, Koushik (not out) 5. Extras (B-9, LB-13, NB-4) 26. Total (all out in 132.1 overs): 445.Fall of wickets: 8-354, 9-411.Bowling: Choudhary 36-8-110-4; Rituraj 23-7-53-0; Arafat 24.1-1-98-2; Suthar 41-5-132-4; Lomror 8-0-30-0. Rajasthan (II innings): Yash Kothari b Vyshak 10, Mahipal Lomror c Sharath b Vyshak 99, Aditya Garhwal lbw Koushik 66, Karan Lamba c Sharath b Koushik 19, SV Joshi lbw Gowtham 63, Manav Suthar c Padikkal b Vyshak 8, RR Singh (not out) 30, Kunal Rathore c & b Gowtham 0, Arafat Khan b Gowtham 19, Aniket Choudhary c Mayank b Vyshak 8, Ashok Menaria (absent hurt) 0. Extras (w1, lb7) 8. Total (all out; 65.4 overs) 330. Fall of wickets: 1-58, 2-162, 3-196, 4-225, 5-252, 6-299, 7-299, 8-321, 9-330. Bowling: Kaverappa 13-1-60-0; Koushik 15-1-66-2; Vyshak V 11.4-0-73-4; Gowtham 19-1-72-3; Shreyas 7-0-52-0.Karnataka (II innings) R. Samarth (not out) 5, Mayank Agarwal (not out) 10. Extras 0. Total (for no loss, 5 overs) 15. Bowling: Arafat Khan 3-0-10-0; Manav Suthar 2-0-5-0.
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