Vasavada (47*) makes most of hosts' largesse as visitors hand them a 4-wicket defeat
BENGALURU: To defend a miserly target of 115 against Saurashtra, Karnataka needed to bowl 10 wicket taking deliveries. It was improbable but not impossible. Two bowlers — K Gowtham (3/38) and V Koushik (3/32) — bowled more than 10 such deliveries but only six eventually yielded wickets. The result: a dominant Saurashtra overcame the hiccups to register a four-wicket win over the hosts and storm into their third Ranji Trophy final in four years.
In a repeat of the 2019-20 finale, Saurashtra, who won that season, will take on Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from February 16. Going into the final day's play at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Sunday, Saurashtra had all but sealed the deal with the heroics of Sheldon Jackson (160) and skipper Arpit Vasavada (202) in the first innings. But Mayank Agarwal and his men were unwilling to go down without a fight.
First, rookie Nikin Jose came up with a commendable century (109; 161b; 9x4) to steer Karnataka to 234 in 58.2 overs. The youngster was a picture of composure and focus as he went about compiling runs and punished the opposition for dropping him three times during his innings. Saurashtra, who had responded with 527 to Karnataka's first innings score of 407, needed 115 for avictory. On a fifth-day pitch that had slowed down considerably and with the ball keeping low, it wasn't a walk in the park for the visitors.
Karnataka opened the bowling with off-spinner Gowtham, who found the sweet spot and kept it tight. Koushik, the one-change bowler, played to his strength of bowling wicket-to-wicket. They created havoc in the Saurashtra camp, reducing them to 42/5 by the 18th over.
Chetan Sakariya (24 n. o) heavedGowtham for a maximum off the last ball of the 20th over. The next over bowled by a wayward Vyshak Vijaykumar eased the pressure off Saurashtra as he leaked three boundaries to Vasavada (47 n. o). Leggie Shreyas Gopal gave away 20 runs in three overs and Karnataka's now familiar woe of dropping catches came back to haunt them with Manish Pandey and Vidwath Kaverappa putting down Vasavada in a span of three balls. Earlier, Samarthhad grassed Sakariya at short leg.
But these missed chances only delayed the inevitable as Prerak Mankad signalled the victory in the extended second session with a boundary off Koushik. The win by Saurashtra will be remembered as much for the teamwork as it will be for the lack of the same from Karnataka. The home team, with a better star cast, faded after their top batters — Samarth, Pandey and Devdutt Padikkal — failed to get goingin both the innings. An elated Saurashtra coach Niraj Odedra said, "It is a great achievement that every time we have qualified (for the knockouts) we have made it to the final. I'm fortunate to be a part of this wonderful side." The 48-year-old pointed out that there was no panic in the dressing room when the team was down by five wickets with 73 runs required for victory.
"On a fifth-day wicket, you expect these kinds of things. Saurashtra worked hard and dominated almost all the sessions. I told them to go out there and be positive and play your shots," he added.
