Gowtham’s seven-wicket haul helps Karnataka seal semi-finals spot

Resuming the day at 245 for four, Karnataka added another 71 runs before folding for 316 in its second innings, setting the host a target of 331. Jammu and Kashmir was bundled out for 163, courtesy off-spinner Gowtham’s (7/54) seven-wicket haul. Earlier, Abid Mushtaq (6/83) claimed six wickets, Parvez Rasool (3/88) took three and Mujtaba Yousuf (1/44) dismissed one Karnataka batsman.

Overnight batsman Krishnamurthy Siddharth (98) missed out on a well-deserved century, dismissed by Mushtaq in the 80th over. His wicket triggered a collapse as Karnataka kept losing wickets regularly. Srinivas Sharath (34) held on to one end and took the team across the 300-mark before departing in the 105th over. Chasing 331 to win, opener Shubham Khajuria (30), middle-order batsman Shubham Pundir (31) and tail-enders Aquib Nabi (26) and Umar Nazir (24) tried their bit but none of them could stay longer to raise any hope of a successful chase.

Meanwhile, Bengal, too, stormed into the semi-finals by virtue of its first innings lead over Odisha after only one session was possible on the final day which was interrupted by bad light. Resuming on 361 for seven, Bengal lost its remaining three wickets for 12 runs inside six overs to set Odisha an improbable 456. In reply, Odisha was 39 for no loss in 10 overs when bad light stopped play as both the teams agreed upon a draw with two more sessions left on the final day at the DRIEMS College ground on the outskirts of Cuttack.

Bengal thus qualified by virtue of its crucial first innings lead of 82 runs, setting up a clash with Karnataka in the semis starting from February 29 at Eden Gardens.

Brief scores: Karnataka 206 & 316 bt Jammu & Kashmir 192 & 163; Bengal 332 & 373 drew with Odisha 250 & 39/0; Saurashtra 419 & 426 drew with Andhra 136 & 149/4