Karnataka enter Ranji Trophy final after 11 years

Karnataka entered the Ranji Trophy final after a hiatus of 11 years, advancing by virtue of a first-innings lead from their drawn semifinal match against Uttarakhand on Thursday. Karnataka will face Jammu and Kashmir in the title clash at Hubballi from February 24.  Resuming the fifth and final day from their overnight 299 for six, Karnataka lost the remaining four wickets quickly to get bowled out for 323 for an overall lead of 826 runs.

Uttarakhand fought through fifties by Avneesh Sudha (66), Sachin Rawat (53 not out) and Abhay Negi (57 not), thwarting Karnataka’s ambitions for an outright win. They finished their second innings at 260 for six. However, the massive first-innings lead was enough for them to ensure a passage to the final. Karnataka were pressing for an outright win after reducing Uttarakhand to 156 for six midway through the second session.

But Negi and Rawat hung in there, adding 104 runs for the seventh wicket before both the captains decided to shake hands some 30 minutes after tea. Now, Karnataka will eye their ninth Ranji Trophy title, and the last of which came in the 2014-15 season under the leadership of R Vinay Kumar. In fact, Karnataka had then achieved the rare distinction of becoming the second domestic side after Mumbai to win all three titles twice in as many seasons.

Following their success in the 2013-14 season, Karnataka grabbed the Ranji, Irani and Vijay Hazare trophies in the 2014-15 season as well. Robin Uthappa led the run-chart with 912 runs, while Vinay was the leading wicket-taker, along with Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur — 48 wickets.

KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Gopal are the only four survivors in the current Karnataka squad from that period of dominance. On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir will eye their maiden Ranji title, having reached the final for the first time in six decades.