All-round Shreyas gives Karnataka the edge

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s spin duo of Shreyas Gopal (4/46) and Mohsin Khan (2/56) shared six wickets between them to put Maharashtra on the back foot as the hosts finished on 200 for the loss of six wickets in 66 overs at stumps on the second day of their fourth Elite Group B fixture at the MCA Cricket Ground in Pune. 

Jalaj Saxena (34, 78b, 4x4) and Vicky Ostwal (4, 29b) saw the day through without any further hiccups, still trailing Karnataka by 113 runs at close. 

Shreyas was the catalyst of Maharashtra's collapse as he drew first blood in the 19th over when he removed Arshin Kulkarni (34, 48b, 5x4), who showed some promise but threw his wicket away after being stumped by KL Shrijith. 

Siddesh Veer (0, 3b) followed his partner without troubling the scorers, giving the leg-spinner his second wicket, again stumped off Shrijith. 

Shreyas sent skipper Ankeet Bavane (6, 17b) in the 27th over and the young off-spinner Mohsin Khan joined in on the act and removed the in-form Prithvi Shaw (71, 92b, 9x4) and Sachin Dhas (21, 32b, 2x4) to put Maharashtra in disarray at 139 for five. 

Saurabh Nawale (26, 98b, 3x4) and Saxena then stitched a crucial 44-run partnership. Just when Maharashtra were a little at ease, Shreyas picked up his fourth, sending back Saurabh. 

Earlier in the day, Karnataka managed to bat for 22 overs in the morning, adding just 56 runs to their overnight score of 257/5. It could have been much worse for the tourists if not for a 22-run 10th-wicket stand between Shreyas (71, 122b, 3x4, 1x6) and Vidwath Kaverappa (0 n.o., 6b) after losing three wickets for four runs. 

Abhinav Manohar (47, 129, 3x4, 2x6) was dismissed in the 97th over by left-arm quick Mukesh Choudhary, which triggered the collapse. 

In the process, Shreyas ended up registering his 18th first-class fifty, frustrating the hosts who were desperate for a breakthrough. However, it did come on the final ball of the 111th over, thanks to Vicky Ostwal (2/53).