Cautious Karnataka settle for a draw

Bengaluru: After three hard-fought days of cricketing action, a painstaking hundred from Mayank Agarwal (103, 249b, 8x4, 1x6) and a fluent fifty from Abhinav Manohar (96, 160b, 11x4, 2x6) were the only highlights on the final day as Karnataka settled for a draw and three points in their fourth Elite Group B fixture against Maharashtra at the MCA Cricket Ground at Gahunje in Pune. 

With Karnataka and Maharashtra trading blows, a riveting final day’s play was on the cards with the visitors leading by 157 runs at stumps on day 3, having lost half their side in 49.4 overs. 

However, with wickets hard to come by on the last day and Karnataka's reluctance to take some calculated risks, the game ended in a tame draw. 

Karnataka will now head back to Hubballi for their second home game against Chandigarh with three points, courtesy a 13-run first-innings lead, while Maharashtra pick up a solitary point. 

As things stand, Karnataka sit second in Group B with 14 points to their name in four games, behind Madhya Pradesh (15 points). 

Earlier in the day, the visitors added 166 runs to their tally before the players shook hands to call it time, with Karnataka declaring on 310/8 in 110 overs.

At one point, the lead was 157 with just five wickets in hand and Karnataka needed a partnership to prevent a collapse.

Having resumed play from their overnight score of 144/5, the Karnataka sent in Manohar, who joined forces with skipper Agarwal to add a crucial 92-run partnership for the sixth wicket. 

Agarwal, eight years on from having scored a career-reviving 304 in Pune, reached his 20th first-class ton, but had to walk back soon after the landmark, bowled by Siddhesh Veer. 

Karnataka lost Agarwal with 236 on the board and had a lead of 249 but they were in no mood to declare and continued batting. 

Manohar, who had missed out on his fifty in the first innings, batted out valuable time to guide his team to a position where a Maharashtra win was entirely out of the equation.