Uttar Pradesh break Karnataka hearts in Ranji Trophy

A few dozen hardcore Karnataka supporters, who had climbed the wall around one side of the ground to watch the match which was out of bounds for spectators, religiously chanted "Karnataka" to the exhortation "who are we"? Without being dramatic, the cheering conveyed the eight-time Ranji Trophy champions' proud cricketing legacy.

The feeling, however, appeared to have lost on several Karnataka players, especially their famed batsmen whose inept performance ejected them out of the Ranji Trophy.

Given the inexperience of their pace attack, Karnataka needed their seasoned batting to offset the imbalance. Instead, it was their bowlers - especially pacers V Vyshak and Vidwath Kaverappa both of whom were playing only their second first-class match -- who came out with their reputations enhanced while their more celebrated batsmen badly left the team down.

Overnight 100/8 and overall 198 runs ahead, Karnataka's second innings folded at 114 in 37 overs, setting Uttar Pradesh a target of 213 runs in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here at the KSCA-Ramprasad Arena of Alur grounds on Wednesday. The third day was supposed to be the moving day of the match, but instead it was curtains for the hosts as UP, after a few anxious moments, cantered to the target in 65.2 overs for a five-wicket win.

Skipper Karan Sharma (93, 227m, 163b, 13x4, 1x6) was the architect of UP's famous win after slipping to 114/5. Together with Prince Yadav 33 (114m, 73b, 3x4, 1x6), Karan added 99 runs (114m, 142b) for the undefeated sixth-wicket stand to dash Karnataka's hopes of a semifinal.

“The second innings - this was not our best batting performance," said skipper Manish Pandey after the loss. "Yesterday (Tuesday) was not a day we want to remember. We should have taken our time and seen the overs through. We cannot repeat the same mistakes again.”

If the first two days of the match saw 28 wickets fall, just seven batsmen were dismissed on the third day. Though the Karnataka tail was never expected to spring a surprise in the morning, it was interesting to see UP's approach with the target in front.

Having assessed the pitch and sussed out the conditions, the visiting batsmen put prices on their wickets and made home bowlers toil hard for rewards. Though UP managed to deny Karnataka an early breakthrough, the scoreboard wasn't either moving at the desired pace which can always be tricky in the event of a few quick dismissals.

That's exactly what transpired when Vyshak Vijaykumar (3/47), easily the most impressive of Karnataka bowlers on the day, dismissed the overcautious openers - Aryan Juyal and Samarth Singh - in an impressive opening spell of 9-5-13-2.

With an aggressive Priyam Garg (52, 60b, 6x4, 2x6) changing gears, and Karan playing an ideal foil during a 59-run fourth-wicket association, UP made a steady ascent towards win. But the exits of Garg and the dangerous Rinku Singh in quick succession raised Karnataka's hopes before Dhruv Jurel's wicket put UP under pressure.

Karan, however, kept his wits about himself and slowly rebuilt the chase in the company of Prince Yadav. The right-hander, who made his debut as captain in the league stage, justified the faith reposed in him with a mature innings. If the 23-year-old consumed 103 balls for his first 30 runs, he needed just 60 balls for the next 63 runs en route the most defining innings of his fledgling career.