Skipper Karan Sharma scored a gritty 93* to help Uttar Pradesh reach the semifinals of Ranji Trophy 2021-22 with a sensational 5-wicket win over Karnataka on Wednesday. In a low-scoring affair, domestic cricket giants Karnataka set a 213-run target in front of UP which was led by a young 23-year-old captain. Vijaykumar Vyshak picked three wickets for Karnataka as UP lost their batters at regular intervals in the chase Karan held his ground strong to help his team cross the victory line.
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23-year-old Karan was unbeaten on 93 after facing 163 balls in which he struck a six and 13 fours. After spending time in Lucknow Super Giants camp for IPL, Karan didn’t waste time adapting to the red-ball cricket as he shared a crucial 59-run stand for the third wicket with Priyam Garg to stabilize the chase. While Prince Yadav scored valuable 33* runs to give ample support to Karan which helped UP in chasing down the target.
Uttar Pradesh march into the #RanjiTrophy semifinals! 👏 👏
Captain Karan Sharma leads the charge with the bat in the chase as Uttar Pradesh beat Karnataka by 5⃣ wickets in #QF3. 👍 👍 #KARvUP | @Paytm
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/UDFkFRkMjB pic.twitter.com/AtKOP4paDi
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 8, 2022
For Karnataka, star batters Mayank Agarwal and Manish Pandey failed to put up a show in the crucial clash. Mayank, who recently, lost his place in India’s Test squad, scored 10 and 22 in the quarterfinals, while skipper Pandey’s poor form continued as he scored 27 and 4 in an all-important clash.
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Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh bowlers produce a collective show to restrict star-studded Karnataka to below-par scores in both innings. Saurabh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed 7 wickets in the match.
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