Lucknow: By lunch on the fourth day, Karnataka had effectively sealed their place in the Ranji Trophy final. At the Ekana Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday, the eight-time champions took most of the remaining matches as extended batting practice ahead of next week’s title clash against Jammu and Kashmir.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Uttarakhand team, playing at 149/5, was all out for 233 runs in 90 minutes. Instead of enforcing follow-on, Karnataka decided to rest their bowlers and give time to their batsmen in the middle.
At stumps on the final day, Karnataka had scored 299/6 in 63.5 overs in their second innings, taking their overall lead to 802 runs.The day started with Karnataka swiftly dismantling Uttarakhand’s resistance. In reply, Karnataka opened with Mayank Agarwal (21) and Kruthik Krishna (52). At lunch, Mayank Abhay was caught by wicketkeeper Saurabh Rawat on Negi’s ball. The post-lunch session saw a brief wobble as Shreyas Gopal (0) and Karun Nair (8) were out in quick succession, slowing the pace for a while.Kruthik, however, continued his brilliant performance and completed his second consecutive half-century. But just as he looked set for more, he misread Avneesh Sudha’s googly and was trapped in front. From there, R Smrana and KL Rahul combined to take over an increasingly tired Uttarakhand attack. Rahul scored unbeaten 70 runs in just 67 balls with the help of three fours and five sixes. He signaled his half-century by sending Negi’s ball into the long-on stand. For now, Kar-Drama’s focus is clear – complete the formalities and prepare for a final push for a long-awaited ninth title. The final is likely to be held at the KSCA Rajnagar Stadium in Hubli.Brief Score: Karnataka 736 (Smarn 135, Patil 54; Rawat 4-154, Mishra 3-173) and 299/6 (Smarn 127, Rahul 70;) in 194 overs vs Uttarakhand 233 (Raichandani 55, Rawat 45, V Patil 3-40).