Despite conceding the first innings lead to Goa, Karnataka are virtually assured of the South Zone inter-state under-13 tournament title that will conclude here on Tuesday.

After faring poorly with the bat, Karnataka bowlers did well to restrict a ridiculously cautious Goa to 212 for nine in 157 overs. Though Goa now enjoy a 38-run lead with a wicket in hand, it’s unlikely they will be able to force an outright win that will help them unseat Karnataka from the top.

Karnataka, with 16 points in their kitty, need just a draw to ensure themselves the title, while Goa, who have 13 points, require no less than a win to pip the hosts.

With only a day’s play left, the match is seemingly heading towards a draw that Karnataka, who then will have an unassailable 17 points, will be more than happy to accept.

Brief scores:

At KSCA: Karnataka: 174 vs Goa: 212/9 in 157 overs (Srinivas Phadthe 58, Sherman Vaz 40, Saurabh Dhavjekar 49; KN Bharath 2-46, S Prashanth 2-52, Abhishek Reedy 3-20).

At IAF: Kerala: 221 and 113/2 in 26 overs (Sanju V Samson 83) vs Andhra: 585/4 decl. in 87.2 overs (M Surendra Babu 116, G Shyamsundar 314, D Naren Reddy 117 n.o.).

At NRA: Tamil Nadu: 90 and 195/8 in 66 overs (M Adithya 63, U Vishal 29, Shahrukh Khan 44, N Jagadeesan 25; Chaitanya Reddy 2-45, Sashank 4-60, Tanmay Agarwal 2-45) vs Hyderabad: 241 all out in 82.4 overs (Vishal J Philips 58; Sharukh Khan 6-82, Ravi Kumar 3-55).