A batting collapse on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha has all but put curtains on Karnataka's excellent run this season.
Playing their maiden Ranji semifinal, Vidarbha went about their defence of a tricky 198-run target with discipline and fearlessness here at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Rajneesh Gurbani, Karnataka's tormentor in the first innings, was once again the bowler who made the difference. The medium pacer picked up 4/35 to help Vidarbha reduce Karnataka to 111/7 before bad lights stopped play.
Needing 87 runs to win, Karnataka's thin hopes rest on captain R Vinay Kumar (19) and leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal who were in the middle at the end of fourth day's play. Shreyas has been good touch, slamming two fifties and a century this season while Vinay has proven his mettle with the bat in the past.
Earlier, resuming at 195/4, Vidarbha folded up for 313 with Aditya Sarwate scoring a fighting 55 (92b, 5x4, 1x6).