Ranji Trophy: Fascinating final day on the cards in Karnataka vs Maharashtra tie

The visitors lead by 157 runs with five wickets in hands at stumps on the third day.

Bengaluru: Mayank Agarwal (64 n.o., 134b, 6x4) scored his second fifty of the match as Mukesh Choudhary's (3/70) triple strike kept the fourth Elite Group B fixture between Karnataka and Maharashtra on an even keel at the MCA Cricket Ground in Pune on Monday.

The visiting skipper hit 64 not out and shared a 50-run stand with Aneesh KV (17, 45b, 2x4) and a 48-run partnership with Shrijith KL (29, 62b, 5x4) to take Karnataka to 144 for five in 49.4 overs, leading Maharashtra by 157 runs at stumps on the third day. 

Mukesh bowled a sharp spell to pick up three, including wickets of the last match double centurions Karun Nair and Smaran R at a crucial juncture of the contest, with Karnataka in a strong position at 131/2. 

Aneesh, who's time in the middle was a stark contrast to the first innings, was the first to go back, after falling victim to Vicky Ostwal's off-spin in the 15th over.

Agarwal was then joined by left-hander Shrijith, who once again failed to impress at a crucial No. 3 spot, following his 10-run first innings knock to give Mukesh his first wicket of the innings. 

Earlier on, Maharashtra started the day at 200/6 but Jalaj Saxena's (72, 147b, 10x4) grit and Ostwal's (20, 92b, 2x4) temperament guided them to 256/6, with the duo stitching a 73-run partnership, batting almost 30 overs. 

While it was the Karnataka spinners who turned the tide on day 2, it was Vidwath Kaverappa, who led from the front on the third day with figures of 2/74. 

The 26-year-old broke Maharashtra's resistance and the partnership, removing Ostwal in the 86th over, caught off Smaran. 

Ramakrishna Ghosh (36, 46b, 4x4, 1x6) joined Saxena in the middle and drove Maharashtra closer to Karnataka's total with a 26-run eighth-wicket stand. 

Vidwath then got rid of the Saxena in the 92nd over to reduce the hosts to 282 for the loss of eight. 

With Maharashtra still trailing Karnataka by 31 runs with two wickets in hand, Ghosh looked to counter-attack, collecting four fours and a six. 

Mohsin Khan (3/64) removed  Rajneesh Gurbani (1, 16b) to reduce the hosts to 292/9. The off-spinner continued to impress, having picked a career-best 6/29 in the last game against Kerala. 

Ghosh, who had looked in control, was run out by Abhinav after a mix-up with Mukesh (0, 6b), a turning point that Karnataka capitalised on as Maharashtra were bowled out for 300 in 99.2 overs.

SCOREBOARD KARNATAKA (I Innings): 313 MAHARASHTRA (I Innings O/n: 200): Prithvi Shaw c Aneesh b Mohsin 71 (92b 9x4) Arshin Kulkarni st Shrijith b Shreyas 34 (48b 5x4) Siddesh Veer st Shrijith b Shreyas 0 (4b) Ankeet Bawane b Shreyas 6 (17b) Sachin Dhas lbw Mohsin 21 (32b 2x4) SS Nawale a Aneesh b Shreyas 26 (98b 3x4) Jalaj Saxena c Mohsin b Vidwath 72 (147b 10x4). Vicky Ostwal c Smaran b Vidwath 20 (29b 2x4) Ramakrishna Ghosh (run out) 36 (46b 4x4 1x6) Rajneesh Gurbani c Nair b Mohsin 1 (16b) Mukesh Choudhary (not out) 0 (6b). Extras (NB-1 LB-5 B-6 W-1) 13. TOTAL (all out 99.2 overs) 300. Fall of wickets: 1-98 (Arshin) 2-100 (Veer) 3-112 (Bawane) 4-114 (Shaw) 5-139 (Dhas) 6-183 (Nawale) 7-256 (Ostwal) 2-282 (Jalaj) 9-292 (Gurbani). Bowling: Vidwath Kaverappa 18-0-74-2 Abhilash Shetty 7-0-35-0 Shreyas Gopal 35-5-70-4 M Venkatesh 8-1-46-0 Mohsin Khan 31.2-4-64-3. KARNATAKA (II Innings): KV Aneesh c Kulkarni b Ostwal 17 (45b 2x4) Mayank Agarwal (batting) 64 (134b 6x4) Shrijith KL 29 b Mukesh 29 (62b 5x4) Karun Nair c Ghosh b Mukesh 15 (34b 1x4) Smaran R lbw b Mukesh 4 (4b 1x4) Abhilash Shetty lbw (Jalaj) 4 (8b). Extras (B-9 LB-1 W-1) 11. TOTAL (for 5 wkts 49.4 overs) 144. Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Aneesh) 2-98 (Shrijith) 3-131 (Karun) 4-135 (Smaran) 5-144 (Abhilash).  Bowling: Mukesh Choudhary 18-2-70-3 Ramakrishna Ghosh 6-1-10-0 Jalaj Saxena 16-4-1-36-1 Vicky Ostwal 9-5-18-1.  Group B brief scores: At Porvorim: Goa: 284 all out & 230 all out in 65.4 overs (Abhinav Tejrana 69 Lalit Yadav 42 Rajashekhar Harikant 40) vs Madhya Pradesh: 181 all out & 21/1 in 10 overs. At Chandigarh: Chandigarh: 173 & (O/n: 168/7) 195 all out (Manan Vohra 32 Nikhil Thakur 32 Ankit Kaushik 38 Gaurav Puri 31 Raj Bawa 25; Ayush Goyal 4-48 Harpreet Brar 3-56) vs Punjab: 142 all out & 227/2 in 66.4 overs (Uday Saharan 117 n.o. Jashanpreet Singh 57 n.o.). Result: Punjab won by eight wickets. Punjab: 6 points; Chandigarh: 0.  At Mangalapuram: Saurashtra 160 all out & (O/n: 47/1) 351/5 in 90 overs (Sammar Gajjar 31 Arpit Vasavada 74 Chirag Jani 152 Prerak Mankad 52; MD Nidheesh 2-61 Nedumankuzhy Basil 2-46) vs Kerala: 233 all out in 74.5 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 80 Baba Aparajith 69 Ankit Sharma 38; Jaydev Unadkat 4-42 Hiten Kanbi 2-53).