Karnataka sign off with positives & draw against Haryana in Ranji Trophy

BENGALURU: Brownie points rarely sit well on competitive teams and when Karnataka and Haryana shook hands at the stroke of tea, signaling an end to their final league engagement in the Ranji Trophy, it was an affirmation that Karnataka truly deserved to go deeper in this championship.
Forces beyond their control in the first phase of the league had conspired to stymie Karnataka’s progress, and while Haryana moved into the quarterfinals as Group C toppers, it was the end of the season for Mayank Agarwal & Co.
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The last time Karnataka failed to qualify for the knockouts was in 2015-16 when they were two-time defending champions. This season, they were a far better team but still have scope for improvement and growth some of which may have manifested had they continued onward. The spin department will continue to be their biggest worry, and their need to manage talent and resources will remain a challenge.

On Sunday, at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, the two sessions of the day largely belonged to one youngster — R Smaran — who is a classic blend of old-school technique and youthful elan. The 21-year-old did his growing reputation no harm by standing tall and anchoring Karnataka to safety of a draw with an unconquered century (133; 127b; 14x2; 2x6). After conceding the first innings lead, the home side finished with 294/8 in 89.5 overs. Karnataka remained fourth in the group with 20 points.
Resuming from an overnight 108/3 and still 30 runs in deficit to Haryana’s first innings total of 450 the danger of losing outright was all-pervasive. Karnataka needed the likes of overnight bats Devdutt Padikkal (43), Smaran, KL Shrijith (2) and Hardik Raj (40) to dig deep.
Padikkal, who had essayed deft strokes the previous day, was the first to perish, falling in the fifth over of the day. Much like his first innings, the southpaw was again adjudged leg-before. With the disciplined Anshul Kamboj bowling around the wicket, Padikkal played a delivery late and across to end his 40-run association with Smaran. KL Shrijith (2) followed, with Kamboj setting him up beautifully and inducing an uppish drive which went to Yuvraj Singh at covers.
Smaran, though, was all intent and focus in the face of Haryana’s determined pursuit of victory. Their bowlers rarely strayed, but Smaran found the gaps and delighted with his sweetly timed cuts and drives. He leaned in to dispatch a delivery through point for a four for his second century of the season. It came off just 149 deliveries.
All-rounder Hardik Raj (40) proved an invaluable ally and their defining 98-run association for the seventh kept Haryana from steamrolling the home side.
Later reminiscing on what could have been, Agarwal said, “The first two games were washed out leaving us with a point from each. We did our best. I feel that there are a lot of positives (from the season). Yere (Goud, coach) sir and I had a long discussion, and we feel Karnataka is heading in the right direction.”
SCOREBOARD
Karnataka (Ist Innings): 304 all out
Haryana (Ist Innings): 450 all out
Karnataka (IInd Innings, O/N: 108/3): Devdutt Padikkal lbw Kamboj 43, R Smaran (not out) 133 (217b, 14x4, 2x6), KL Shrijith c Yuvraj b Kamboj, Yashovardhan Parantap lbw Jayant 12, Hardik Raj lbw Jayant 40, Prasidh Krishna c Dheeru b Thakral 1, V Koushik (not out) 1 (22b). Extras (B-6, LB-2, W-1) 9. Total (8 wkts; 89.5 overs) 294.
Fall of wickets: 4-127, 5-129, 6-164, 7-262, 8-267.
Bowling: Anshul Kamboj 16-4-40-3, Ajit Chahal 19-0-71-1, Anuj Thakral 18-1-70–2, Jayant Yadav 27-2-62-2, Nishant Sindhu 8-0-38-0, Lakshya Dalal 1-0-5-0, Dheeru Singh 0.5-0-0-0.
Other Group C: Brief scores: At Indore: Madhya Pradesh: 670/7 decl & 28/0 in 3 overs drew with Uttar Pradesh: (O/n: 404/2) 611 all out in 164 overs (Abhishek Goswami 186, Madhav Kaushik 80, Aryan Juyal 138, Aaditya Sharma 66, Saurabh Kumar 41; Saransh Jain 5-138, Kuldeep Sen 2-108, Sagar Solanki 2-124).