Karnataka Dominates Chandigarh in Ranji Trophy with Spinners' Magic

Hubballi, Nov 18 (PTI): Spinners Shreyas Gopal and Shikhar Shetty delivered exceptional performances as Karnataka demolished Chandigarh by an innings and 185 runs on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match. Chandigarh began the day at 72 for four in their first innings and were eventually dismissed for 222, despite a valiant unbeaten 106 by skipper Manan Vohra.

Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was the star for Karnataka, picking up 7 wickets for 73 runs, while Shikhar Shetty provided valuable support with figures of 2 for 43. In the second innings, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner Shetty stepped up to lead the attack. Having conceded a substantial first innings lead of 325, Chandigarh faced the daunting task of batting out five sessions to avoid an innings defeat.

Unfortunately for Chandigarh, their second innings crumbled under the pressure, resulting in a total of 140 all out. Shetty spearheaded the bowling with a remarkable 5 for 61, supported effectively by Gopal, who chipped in with 3 for 45. Shetty bowled an uninterrupted spell of 11.5 overs in his second spell to secure five wickets for 47 runs, after conceding 14 runs in his single over first spell.

Gopal concluded the match with an impressive tally of 10 wickets for 118 runs. Karnataka collected seven points from the match, including a bonus point for the innings victory, propelling them to the top of Group B with 21 points from five matches. Ravichandran Smaran, who scored a double century in the game, was adjudged player of the match.

Maharashtra Triumph: In another Group B encounter, Maharashtra handed an innings and 92-run defeat to Punjab, climbing to second place with 18 points from five matches. Left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal (6 for 26) and pacer Rajvardhan Hangargekar (5 for 44) were the standout performers for Maharashtra at Mullanpur.

Brief Scores:

At Hubballi: Karnataka: 547/8 declared in 160 overs. Chandigarh: 222 all out in 63.2 overs (Manan Vohra 106 not out, Shreyas Gopal 7/73, Shikhar Shetty 2/43) and 143 all out in 33.5 overs (Shivam Bhambri 43; Shikhar Shetty 5/61, Shreyas Gopal 3/45). Karnataka won by an innings and 185 runs.

Karnataka: 7 points; Chandigarh: 0

At Mullanpur: Maharashtra: 350 all out. Punjab: 151 all out in 58.4 overs (Anmol Malhotra 35; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 5/44, Rajneesh Gurbani 4/39) and 107 all out in 40.5 overs (Vicky Ostwal 6/26). Maharashtra won by an innings and 92 runs.

Maharashtra: 7 points; Punjab: 0.

At Rajkot: Saurashtra: 587/7 declared. Goa: 358 all out in 106.2 overs (Abhinav Tejrana 118, Lalit Yadav 59, Rajsekhar Harikant 69; Yuvrajsinh Dodiya 6/98) and 77/2 in 16.3 overs.

At Indore: Kerala: 281 all out and 218/3 in 62 overs (Sachin Baby 81 batting, Baba Aparajith 85 batting) vs Madhya Pradesh: 192 all out.

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