Bengaluru, Nov 9 (UNI) The Ranji match between Bengal and Karnataka here ended in a draw on Saturday after Karnataka were 110/3 in 28 overs in their second innings.
The game saw a brilliant century from Sudip Kumar Gharami in the second innings, whose composed knock helped Bengal set a challenging target for Karnataka, but the latter’s resistance ultimately stalled any chance of a result.
Starting the day at 127/3, Bengal managed to add just 15 more runs before losing their fourth wicket at 141. Shabaz, who had been holding firm, was dismissed for 7, caught by R Smaran off the bowling of Vidyadhar Patil, who claimed his second wicket of the innings.
Patil was again in the thick of things, dismissing Avilin Ghosh for 5 in the 55th over to leave Bengal at 160/5. However, the overnight batsmen, Gharami and Wriddhiman Saha, held the fort with a steady partnership.
The pair added 79 runs for the sixth wicket in 116 balls, taking Bengal to 239/5 at lunch, with Gharami on 83 and Saha on 39. Gharami was the dominant force, having faced 170 balls and stroked 11 boundaries and a six.
After the break, Gharami completed his century, and Bengal’s captain, Anustup Majumdar, declared their second innings at 283/5, setting a challenging target of 364 for Karnataka with just over 50 overs remaining.
Saha, who also played a crucial hand, reached his half-century before ending unbeaten on 63 from 70 balls, with seven boundaries and a six. Gharami finished his innings on a well-crafted 101 off 193 balls, which included 12 boundaries and two sixes.
Karnataka’s chase started poorly, as they lost two quick wickets for just 12 runs. Mayank Agarwal, who made 5 with a boundary, was caught by Majumdar off Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal. Kishan Bedare also fell for a duck, caught by substitute fielder Shakhir Habib Gandhi off Jaiswal.
Shreyas Gopal and Smaran steadied the ship with a 54-run partnership for the third wicket off 77 balls, reaching the Tea break at 66/2, with Karnataka still needing 298 runs to win.
However, despite some resistance from Pandey and Smaran, the chase never gained significant momentum. The match was eventually called off at 110/3, with Bengal securing three points and Karnataka earning one.
In the end, Bengal’s first innings total of 301, combined with their second innings score of 283/5, proved enough for them to take the honours. Karnataka had made 221 in their first innings.
Bengal’s Jaiswal was the pick of the bowlers, bagging three wickets for just 27 runs.
Brief Scores: Bengal: 301 & 283/5 dec (Gharami 101*, Saha 63*); Karnataka: 221 & 110/3 (Smaran 35*, Pandey 30*); Result: Match Drawn; Points: Bengal 3, Karnataka 1.
