Ranji Trophy: Karnataka enjoy slight edge against UP

Either side of their stuttering innings, Karnataka sandwiched an inspired show of bowling that may just have compensated for their much-vaunted batsmen's profligacy.

On a day when 21 wickets fell, the Karnataka bowlers nicely blended discipline with an impressive set of skills to keep the hosts in the hunt for a spot in the semifinals at close on Tuesday's second day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Uttar Pradesh at the KSCA-Ramprasad Arena in Alur near here.

With Shreyas Gopal (56 n.o., 80b, 6x4, 1x6) providing a rear-guard act with a half-century, Karnataka, overnight 213/7, added another 40 runs before being dismissed for 253 in 84 overs. Notwithstanding the help of the bowlers on the pitch, which offered generous bounce and encouraging turn, the total appeared inadequate as most of the frontline Karnataka batsmen had thrown their wickets away.

However, the Karnataka pacers made the most of the favourable conditions to dismiss UP for 155 in 37.3 overs, extracting a healthy 98-run lead which the hosts extended to 198 after finishing the day at 100/8 in 34 overs.

It was a pitch which demanded application and patience, be it from batsmen or bowlers. While bowlers from both sides showed the right composure and cleverness, batsmen from either appeared to have left those traits behind in the change-rooms.

Not unlike in the first innings, Karnataka's batsmen failed to build on the cushion as rank audacious shots and poor cricketing sense, which the situation discouraged, marred their second innings too. Karun Nair once again chased the ball outside off while Mayank Agarwal stepped out needlessly and as he chased an away going ball, he could only manage an edge behind the wicket. As if bowlers were not enough to inflict all the damage, Manish Pandey ran himself out.

The bowlers, however, may have done just enough for Karnataka to go through to the last-four stage given the state of the pitch. While K Gowtham, who had forgettable outings with the bat in both the innings, managed to grab two wickets (2/43) after being carted around initially, it was the pace trio of Ronit More (3/47), V Vyshak (2/29) and Vidhwath Kaverappa (2/19) who had the UP batsmen in all sorts of trouble.

Vyshak and More, who shared the new ball, set the tone with five wickets between them before Vidhwath got into the act in a telling fashion. Though there were only two to show for in the wickets column, the 23-year-old impressed with his match-temperament and obvious skills. Playing only his second first-class match and after a gap of three months, the right-arm used his tall frame to good effect, landing the ball in the right spots and extracting a disconcerting bounce.

Vyshak, who drew first blood by ejecting Aryan Juyal, was no less impressive either. More lived up to his status as the spearhead of the pace attack, claiming three of the top five batsmen and helping Karnataka wrest the advantage, although UP managed to reduce the deficit, courtesy of an innings-high last-wicket stand of 44 between Shivam Mavi and Ankit Rajpoot.