BENGALURU: On a day when the sun played hide and seek during the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match between Karnataka and Uttarakhand, things moved at a slow pace at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.
After runs flowed on Day 2 — more than four runs per over — both the teams scored at less than three on the third day. However, Karnataka were untroubled with Mayank Agarwal & Co well in front at stumps with a lead of 384 runs.
With the help of Shreyas Gopal's (161*, 288b, 16x4, 1x6) highest first-class individual score, Karnataka made 606, thereby taking a first innings lead of 490 runs. Uttarakhand were 106/3 at stumps with Swapnil Singh and Dikshanshu Negi batting on 27 each. Karnataka need seven wickets in two days as they close in on the semifinal spot.
The massive lead put the visitors on the backfoot, but they came up with a better show in the second innings after they were bundled out for 116 in theirfirst essay. Vidwath Kaverappa (2/22) trapped opener Avneesh Sudha (4) leg before in the ninth over. For a fair bit, Jiwanjot Singh threatened to score big, but had to walk back when Kaverappa castled the stumps with a ball that nipped back in sharply for 24.
After Kunal Chandela was also dismissed by Venkatesh M, Dikshanshu and Swapnil stitched a 50-run partnership for the fourth wicket to hold the team together. They have a big job in hand on Friday.
Karnataka's approach, especially of centurion Shreyas, in the first session of the day was surprising. After scoring a stroke-filled ton on Day 2, Shreyas was happy to deal in singles and an occasional boundary. The sense of urgency was almost amiss as Karnataka were in the driving seat and Uttarakhand helped their case by setting a defensive field too.
SCORES: Uttarakhand 116 and 106/3 (V Kaverappa 2/22) vs Karnataka 606 (S Gopal 161*, M Agarwal 83, R Samarth 82, D Padikkal 69, N Jose 62; A Negi 4/109, M Mishra 3/117, S Singh 2/118)
