Rahul, Smaran help Karnataka knock Mumbai out and make semi-final

KL Rahul top scored with 130 as Karnataka scaled down a daunting 325-run target to knock Mumbai out in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final at the Sharad Pawar Academy in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Karnataka will take on first-timers Uttarakhand in the semi-final beginning February 15.

The match between the two arch-rivals see-sawed after Rahul fell post the lunch interval. He was through with the pull even before Tushar Deshpande's spongy bouncer arrived, as the ball ballooned off the glove to a diving Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully.

In his next over, Deshpande strangled Shreyas Gopal down the leg side to leave Karnataka wobbly at 268 or 5. The wobble seemed to have turned into full-blown panic when rookie wicketkeeper Kruthik Krishna, playing in only his second game, was out stumped off Tanush Kotian. Having left the ball after lunging forward a long way, Krishna was admiring his forward stretch when wicketkeeper Akash Anand whipped the bails off with the batter's back foot on the line. Karnataka were now 285 for 6, needing another 40.

It's at this point that the match had an extra edge to it, with Vidyadhar Patil and Deshpande getting into a war of words that needed Shardul Thakur, the Mumbai captain, and the umpires to intervene.

Patil decided the best way to tackle the situation was to pick up runs at every available opportunity, and went after Kotian to set the ball in motion. He remained unbeaten on 31, hitting the winning runs by sweeping Kotian through to the deep square leg fence, to trigger wild celebrations in the Karnataka camp.

R Smaran, playing in only his second full season, was unbeaten on 83, having steered them through the tough pockets early in the day, especially after Karun Nair fell to Thakur's nip-backer. Smaran drove well, played the ball late and used his height and reach to smother spin nicely. It helped that he also exhibited excellent technique while sweeping the ball - all contributing to the 11 fours he hit.

"He's a phenomenal player," Rahul said after being named Player of the Match. "This year, he has improved his game a lot more, scored bigger runs and scored when it matters. The fact that he's got two double hundreds shows his hunger and skill. These are the kind of knocks that push a player to the next level and grab the eyeballs of the selectors."

Rahul also stated while the chase seemed daunting, there were never doubts in the Karnataka camp, provided they approached their chase positively.

"We always knew we could chase it down, knew the wicket had some type of help, so we had to score," Rahul said. "It was important to put pressure on them. That's what Mayank and I tried to do. Unfortunately, Mayank got out.

"Whoever came in, the chat was to keep the scoreboard moving and put pressure on the bowlers. We stitched good partnerships, partnership towards the end. A few quick wickets got our heart rates up in the end, but Vidyadhar and Smaran finished it off superbly."

The finish marked quite a remarkable turnaround for Karnataka, who appeared to have fallen behind after bowling Mumbai out for 120 on the opening day. Having gotten to a position where they had cancelled out the first innings with eight wickets in hand, Karnataka them went on to lose 7 for 53 as Mumbai limited their lead to 52. Seamers Mohit Awasthi and Deshpande picked up four wickets apiece.

Mumbai batted better in the second innings, as many as eight batters crossing 25; only one among them, Anand, managed a half-century as Mumbai finished with 377 to set Karnataka 325.