Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Semi-finals: Karnataka ends day 3 in a strong position
Karnataka ended the third day in a strong position at 237 for 8. They now have a lead of 276 runs with Gopal and Mithun at the crease. The third day's between Karnataka and Saurashtra saw some exciting action.
Starting the day on 227 for 7, Karnataka bowled out Saurashtra for 236 runs in the first innings. Vasavada was the last player to be dismissed for 30. Ronit More finished with figures of 6 for 60. Karnataka took an important lead of 39 runs in the first innings.
In their second innings, Karnataka got off to a poor start as Ravi Samarth was dismissed by Jaydev Unadkat for just five runs. Mankad made big breakthroughs as he dismissed KV Siddharth and Karun Nair in quick successions. Karnataka went into the lunch break at 80 for 3.
After the lunch break, Jadeja dismissed Manish Pandey for 26 runs and then got the big wicket of Mayank Agarwal for 46. Manish Pandey and Mayank Agarwal added 37 runs for the 4th wicket.
Gowtham, Sharath, and Vinay Kumar were dismissed cheaply but Gopal looked in control with his positive stroke play. Karnataka went into the tea break at 176 for 7. Gopal played with good intent and reached his fifty off 104 balls while Mithun gave him good support at the other end.
Karnataka ended day three on 237 for 8 and extended their lead to 276 runs. Gopal is not out on 61 runs while Mithun is still at the crease on 35. Karnataka would be hoping to add a few more runs and take the target near 300. It promises to be a superb end to the match with all to play on day four. For Saurashtra, Jaydev Unadkat and D Jadeja picked 3 wickets each.
Brief scores: Karnataka 275 in 100.3 overs (Shreyas Gopal 87, BS Sharath 83*, Unadkat 4/50, Makvana 3/73, DA Jadeja 2/79) and 237 for 8 in 78 overs (Shreyas Gopal 61*, Mayank Agarwal 46, Jaydev Unadkat 3/35, DA Jadeja 3/77) lead Saurashtra 236 in 71 overs (Snell Patel 85, Vasavada 30*,Jackson 46, Pujara 45, Ronit More 60) by 276 runs.