Ravi bags eight wickets, Karnataka narrowly denied victory

Karnataka were narrowly denied a well deserved victory after a superb bowling performance by GV Ravi (eight for 59) reduced Goa to 189 for 9 on the final day of the KSCA Coca Cola Under-25 Tournament at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Saturday.

The start of play on Saturday was delayed by 45 minutes, due to overnight rain. Goa, 208 runs in arrears on the first innings, made a sedate start with openers N Mulgaonkar (29) and Nityanand Halgekar (49) adding 89 runs in 32.5 overs. It was Ravi who made the first inroads into the Goa line up when he had Mulgoankar caught by Vinod. This was the signal for Goa's collapse as wickets fell like nine pins. The only other substantial contribution came from vice captain Kapil Angle (31). He shared a 33-run fourth wicket partnership in 11.5 overs with Gaurish Phadte (18).

Goa just about managed to avert an innings defeat when play was called off at 16.45 hours. Karnataka managed to earn five points on the basis of their first innings lead while the visitors earned three points. Karnataka are slated to play Andhra from October 5-7.