Ranji Trophy: Karnataka needs something special on the final day to avoid early exit

Karnataka faces a challenging final day in the Ranji Trophy, needing a win to avoid early elimination.

Karnataka’s window of opportunity to qualify for the Ranji Trophy knockouts shrunk further at the I.S. Bindra PCA Stadium here on Saturday.

After dense fog delayed the start of play by more than two hours, the visitors, from an overnight 255 for six, huffed and puffed to go past Punjab’s 309 and take a narrow seven-run first-innings lead.

But with Saurashtra beating Chandigarh by an innings and 56 runs to go up to 26 points, and Madhya Pradesh defeating Maharashtra by 133 runs to finish on 28, Karnataka, currently on 21 points, will need an outright victory to earn at least six points and reach the quarterfinals.

However, going by day three’s proceedings, Karnataka will need a miracle. The hosts, in their second essay, batted resolutely to reach 119 for three, with skipper Uday Saharan (63 batting, 110b, 4x4, 2x6) and Anmolpreet Singh (six batting) at the crease.

Karnataka needed quick wickets, but Punjab negotiated 45 overs fairly easily.

Captain Devdutt Padikkal shook up his tactics board by opening the bowling with left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty and even stationing himself near the boundary behind the slip fielders to pacer Prasidh Krishna.