Ishan Kishan’s sparkling century on Saturday had given Jharkhand a narrow opening to aim for the all-important first innings lead against Karnataka. But with just four wickets in hand, even the dangerous-looking Kishan couldn’t prevent the inevitable.
Resuming at 309 for six, Jharkhand frustrated Karnataka for 85 minutes before they were bundled out for 374 on the final day of their Group ‘B’ Ranji Trophy encounter at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex.
Karnataka enjoyed a 203-run lead but decided not to enforce the follow-on and were at 162 for three in their second innings when both the captains agreed to share honours.
Karnataka thus kick-started their campaign with three points for the first innings lead while Jharkhand settled for a point. Karnataka next take on Delhi at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from October 20.
Karnataka’s decision to not enforce the follow-on seemed to have been prompted by the pitch that remained unresponsive to bowlers on all four days. With no wear and tear on the surface, Karnataka had an arduous task of bowling out Jharkhand again in little over two sessions, had they enforced the follow-on.
Skipper R Vinay Kumar backed his decision to allow his batsmen to have some match practice, stressing on the need to give his bowlers ample amount of rest considering the long season ahead. “The wicket was very flat. We wanted to keep our bowlers fresh for the next game, considering there are only three days left. If the wicket was lively, we could have tried for an outright win. It doesn’t make sense to make your bowlers tired on a surface that is not helpful for them,” Vinay explained.
Earlier, it was Gowtham who provided the breakthrough for Karnataka when he removed Nadeem. The right-hander was bowled, beaten by a rare delivery that turned. Gowtham ended the 128-run stand between Nadeem and Kishan that lasted 134 minutes.
After Nadeem’s fall, it was not all difficult for Karnataka to clean-up Jharkhand’s tail and their spinners completed the formalities. Shreyas trapped Varun Aaron and Ashish Kumar plumb in front in two successive deliveries. Kishan and number 11 batsman Samar Quadri adopted a defensive approach and consumed time but Gowtham castled Quadri to end Jharkhand’s innings. Kishan remained unbeaten on 159 and his knock included 16 fours and seven sixes.
In their second hit, Karnataka lost their openers early and Robin Uthappa too failed to make an impact. Vice-captain Karun Nair (54 n.o.) and Mir Kaunain Abbas (51 n.o.) struck fluent half-centuries to forge an alliance of 95 runs for the fourth wicket.
R Samarth (235), who helped Karnataka post a huge first innings total of 577 for six with his maiden double century, was declared the player of the match.