Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Karnataka sniff win over Rajasthan

Jaipur: Riding on Sreenath Aravind’s superb bowling and a quickfire century by Robin Uthappa, Karnataka today gained an upper hand as they reduced Rajasthan to 42 for three, chasing 358-run target, at the end of third day’s play of their Group A Ranji Trophy match. On the fourth and final day on Monday, Rajasthan face an uphill task as they need 316 runs with seven wickets in hand. Earlier on the day, Karnataka managed to take a slight 32-run first essay lead after bundling out Rajasthan for 241 in their opening innings. Rajasthan resumed the day on 219 for seven, in reply to Karnataka’s first innings total of 281, but the hosts failed to topple the opponents’ score as Aravind (3/42) and R Vinay Kumar (3/42) polished off the tail quickly. UPDATES: Rajasthan vs Karnataka, Ranji Trophy 2015-16 Group A match, Day 3 at Jaipur

In their second innings, Karnataka rode on Uthappa’s 128-ball 160, studded with 25 fours and four sixes, to post 318 for five declared. Abhishek Reddy (69), CM Gautam (36 not out) and Stuart Binny (29) also chipped in with crucial runs to set Rajasthan a huge target of 358 runs. In their chase, Rajasthan got off to a disastrous start, losing three wickets in the span of just 38 runs with Aravind (2/20) claiming two of the three scalps. At stumps, opener Pranay Shrama was batting on 24 and Tanveer-Ul-Haq was yet to open his account.

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The match is being played at the scenic Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur and it is the home ground for the Rajasthan team. Both the teams have won the Ranji Trophy in recent years. Karnataka have won two in a row in 2013-14 and 2014-15, whereas Rajasthan had won consecutive trophies in 2010-11 and 2011-12. But, if their performances this season are anything to go by, then both the teams cannot be ranked very high. Both Rajasthan and Karnataka would look to bring their A game forward in an expectedly high-intensity clash.

Brief scores:

Karnataka 281 & 318 for 5 decl (Robin Uthappa 160, Abhishek Reddy 69) lead Rajasthan 242 & 42 for 3 (Sreenath Aravind 2 for 20) by 316 runs.