Bangalore, January 06: Karnataka storm into the final of the Ranji Trophy by virtue of taking a huge first innings lead of 367 as their semi-final encounter with Uttar Pradesh ended in a tame draw at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Resuming at their overnight score of 43/3 the Karnataka batsman got some useful batting pratices as wicketkeeper Muralidharen Gautam scored his third first-class ton scoring an unbeaten 100 asKarnataka declared their second innings at 247/8, a lead of 614-run.
Set an impossible target of 615 for victory on the final day UP made 22/1 before the match was drawn and handing Karnataka a shot in the title against Mumbai.
Brief Scores:
Karnataka vs UP at Chinnaswamy Stadium:
Karnataka- 575/7dec (Dravid 209*; RP Singh 3/93) & 247/8dec (Gautam 100*; RP Singh 4/47), UP- 208 (P Kumar 58*;Mithun 4/51) & 22/1.Match Drawn
Mumbai vs Delhi
Mumbai booked their place in the Ranji Trophy final after their semi-final encounter with Delhi ended in a draw at the Brabourne Stadium inMumbai.
Mumbai by virtue of its 289-run first innings lead made it through to final wher they will meet Karnataka.
Resuming at their overnight score of 123/4 Mumbai were bowled out for 187 with opener Sahil Kukreja top scoring with a solid 71. 17-year old left arm-spinner Vikas Mehra bowled brilliantly to finish with 6/49.
Chasing an improbable 477 for victory on the final day Delhi could only manage 160/4 before the match was called off by both the sides resulting in a drawn tie.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai vs Delhi at Brobourne Stadium:
Mumbai-500 (Nayar 156; Mishra 4/89) & 187 (Kukreja 71;Mishra 6/49,Jain 4/43), Delhi-211(Bhatia 85; Powar 5/47) & 160/4(Dhawan 40; Abdullah 3/53).Match Drawn
–Agencies