Published: Dec 09, 2017, 04:54 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 09, 2017, 04:54 PM (IST)
Not often do we already see Mumbai on the wall before the penultimate day of a Ranji Trophy encounter and that too in a quarter-final. Karnataka were leading Mumbai by 222 runs, and have consolidated their position furthermore. At stumps on Day Three, they required only 8 wickets to inflict an innings defeat and proceed to the semi-finals. After conceding a mammoth lead of 397 runs, Mumbai are reeling at 120 for 3.
Story so far
The day’s play started with Vinay Kumar giving company to Shreyas Gopal who was 20 short of a deserving century. Although he lost Vinay, he continued to stitch vital stands. Krishnappa Gowtham showed resistance and scored 38 to stretch the lead. However, Dhawal Kulkarni finally got off the mark with the ball, sending two batsmen in successive deliveries.
Karnataka, however, did not show any mercy. Their last wicket, between Gopal and Sreenath Aravind, added 92 runs. Aravind dominated proceedings, striking at 124.39; he brought up a quickfire half-century. The pair added fuel to the fire. Gopal, on the other hand, scored 150 before eventually remaining not out. His composure remained unmatched, whereas Aravind’s innings was a mixture of power and smartly finding the gaps.
In reply to Karnataka’s 570, Mumbai openers came out with a positive mindset. Prithvi Shaw and Jay Bista started well before falling to soft dismissals. Suryakumar Yadav and Akhil Herwadkar put up an 80-run stand for the third wicket. However, their hard work was negated in the end overs when Herwadkar was caught at short mid-wicket off Gowtham.
Mumbai look to satisfy their ego
It would be interesting to see how Mumbai come out and bat tomorrow. With the match done and dusted, will the most experienced side in the tournament’s history bow down in the penultimate day? Or, will they keep the game alive till Monday?
Brief scores
Mumbai 173 all-out & 120 for 3 (Akhil Herwadkar 26, Suryakumar Yadav 55*; Krishnappa Gowtham 2 for 30) trail Karnataka 570 all-out (Mayank Agarwal 78, Kaunain Abbas 50, CM Gautam 79, Shreyas Gopal 150*; Shivam Dubey 5 for 98) by 277 runs.
