Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Karnataka qualify for quarterfinals with 8-wicket win over Baroda
Brief Scorecard
Karnataka 233 and 150/2 (Karun Nair 71*, KV Siddharth 29*, Bhargav Bhatt 2/62) beat Baroda 85 and 296 (Ahmadnoor Pathan 90, Abhimanyu Rajput 52, Prasidh Krishna 4/45) by 8 wickets.
A patient half-century from Karun Nair and handy contributions from Ravikumar Samarth and KV Siddharth helped Karnataka clinch an 8-wicket win over Baroda at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as part of the Ranji Trophy 2019-20.
Earlier in the day, Baroda's overnight duo of Abhimanyu Rajput and Parth Kohli did well to play out the first five overs which also saw Rajput bring up a well-deserved half-century. Just as it seemed like Baroda were motoring along, Rajput chopped one onto his stumps and departed for 52.
Krishnappa Gowtham struck off the fourth delivery he bowled on the day, trapping Bhargav Bhatt in front before Kohli and next man in Soyeb Sopariya put on a rearguard 31-run partnership off 55 balls that frustrated the Karnataka bowlers.
However, a nasty blow to Sopariya's groin area seemed to take a toll on his confidence as he looked to switch gears, but only connected with thin air and gave away his wicket in the 86th over which opened the door for Karnataka to eke out the last two wickets.
Two balls later, Abhimanyu Mithun had Kohli trapped in front for 42 post which Prasidh's pace proved too hot to handle for last man Babashafi Pathan, who was caught plumb in front as Baroda were bowled out for 296.
Karun Nair finds lost form to guide Karnataka through
Needing to chase down a tricky 149-run target after Baroda added just 88 runs to their overnight tally of 208/5, Karnataka's opening pair of Devdutt Padikkal and Samarth started cautiously and played out the first five overs from the pace bowling duo of Soyeb Sopariya and Abhimanyu Rajput.
However, Baroda skipper Krunal Pandya's move to introduce left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt worked for the visitors as despite getting hit for a six in his third ball, Bhatt struck with his fourth and had Padikkal holing out to deep mid-wicket which prompted the umpires to draw a close to the opening session.
Karun Nair walked in to join Samarth post lunch, and the duo milked the bowlers as they helped Karnataka cross the 50-run mark at the end of the 20th over. However, just an over after the drinks break, Bhatt removed Samarth in his first delivery as he got the ball to turn just enough to beat the bat and thud into the stumps which left the hosts with 91 runs to get.
Going into the tea break, Karnataka held all the aces with the hosts needing to get just 52 runs with 8 wickets in hand. Two overs post the tea break, Nair got to his half-century, off 99 balls and the next ball, Krunal Pandya put down a sitter at slips to give KV Siddharth an easy reprieve.
Post that over, Nair and Siddharth collected the odd boundaries and threaded the gaps as eventually, the duo's 92-run partnership helped Karnataka clinch a comfortable 8-wicket win.