Last Updated: January 26, 2023, 22:06 IST
Krishnappa Gowtham took 5/75 in the second innings. (Pic Credit: IG/gowthamyadav1)
Karnataka are now on 35 points, while Jharkhand have 23. Rajasthan (20 points), Kerala (20) and Goa (18) too have a chance of making the last-eight from the group
Karnataka thrashed Jharkhand by nine wickets at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur on Thursday to further cement their position at the top of Group C in Ranji Trophy.
The team, led by Mayank Agarwal, had made it to the quarter-final stage after the previous round of Ranji matches. But following the six points earned from the rubber on Thursday, they have put a huge roadblock in Jharkhand’s path to securing a last-eight berth.
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Karnataka are now on 35 points, while Jharkhand have 23. Rajasthan (20 points), Kerala (20) and Goa (18) too have a chance of making the last-eight from the group.
Karnataka, who had restricted Jharkhand to 164 in the first innings and then notched up 300 to take a handsome 136-run lead, struck back in the second innings with their veteran off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham grabbing another five-wicket haul.
The hosts were dismissed for 201 in their second essay, giving Karnataka a paltry target of 66 to chase down.
Karnataka achieved victory in the 19th over of their innings with Nikin Jose (42 not out) and Ravikumar Samarth (24 not out) guiding them to the target.
Much of Karnataka’s bowling revolved around the 34-year-old Gowtham. He broke partnerships at crucial junctures to ensure Jharkhand batters didn’t score big.
Gowtham first dismissed opener Kumar Deobrat, who was caught by Agarwal. The off-spinner then returned to remove the No.3 and No.4 batters — Kumar Suraj (34) and Kumar Kushagra (36) — who had started to firm up their partnership.
But with Jharkhand folding up at 201 in 78.5 overs, it was a matter of time before Karnataka finished the job.
While Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed in the first over for duck, Ravikumar Samarth and Nikin Jose ensured no more hiccups as Karnataka earned six more points to take their tally to 35 points.
Brief Scores
At Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 164 and 201 in 78.5 overs (Supriyo Chakraborty 48; Krishnappa Gowtham 5/75) lost to Karnataka 300 and 66 for 1 in 18.1 overs by nine wickets.
At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 531 for 9 decl vs Goa 359 in 92.5 overs (Ishaan Gadekar 80, Snehal Kauthankar 147 no; Ravi Kiran 3/66) and f/o 4 for no loss.
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At Puducherry: Puducherry 371 and 34 for 1 in 14 overs vs Kerala 286 in 113 overs (Akshay Chandran 70; Sagar Udeshi 5/62).
At Jodhpur: Services 178 and 276 vs Rajasthan 136 and 107 for 6 in 38 overs (Yash Kothari 72; Pulkit Narang 4/20).
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)