KOLKATA: Karnataka’s highest successful chase in Ranji Trophy is 265, against Andhra in 2000-01. The highest total any team has posted against Bengal this season is 250. This tells you the enormity of the task Karnataka are facing. Set a target of 352 to reach the final, they closed Day 3 at 98 for three, needing 254 more.To make things complicated, Karnataka have already lost senior pros KL Rahul (0) and Karun Nair (6), with Manish Pandey being the other one carrying their hopes alongside Devdutt Padikkal (50 not out) and KV Siddharth, who is yet to bat.
“We have to believe we can do it. If these two can carry on and with Siddharth left to bat, we can pull this off. The pitch is still good, there is no odd bounce or anything of that sort,” Karnataka spinner K Gowtham said. The day started with a bit of hope for Karnataka. Abhimanyu Mithun’s strikes on Sunday had given them an opening and they took the field on Monday looking to make the most of the morning conditions. Ronit More had Sudip Chatterjee hit-wicket, only for replays to show he had overstepped, like he had when he got Anustup Majumdar caught in the slips on Sunday.
Karnataka had to wait for 10 overs to get the breakthrough, with More bringing them back with the back-to-back wickets of Chatterjee and Shreevats Goswami. But Anustup Majumdar in the company of Shahbaz Ahmed once again frustrated Karnataka. To make things worse, Karnataka had a caught-behind decision against Majumdar over-turned by DRS. Majumdar and Ahmed put on 61 for the seventh wicket as Bengal recovered from 89 for six. “When you get a lead of 190, you should bat the opposition out of the game. That didn’t happen and we were a bit worried about letting them back into the match. Our bowling is capable of getting the job done, but in semifinals we shouldn’t be repeating the same mistake twice. Because of the covers, the pitch will sweat a bit overnight and we have to make use of the first session,” Bengal coach Arun Lal said.
Once Ahmed fell, the rest followed as Bengal were dismissed for 161. Though the pitch was getting friendlier for the batsmen, bowlers still found something in it. Ishan Porel, who took five wickets in the first innings, dealt a blow to Karnataka early in their chase. A lot depended on Rahul, who was troubled repeatedly by Porel’s in-swingers in the first innings. Despite knowing what was coming, Rahul shouldered arms, only for the ball to nip back more than he thought and trap him plumb in front.Aware of their batting troubles, Karnataka changed their order as Padikkal, who batted at No 6 in the first innings, earned a promotion to No 3. The left-hander and Ravikumar Samarth went about their job patiently. The 57-run stand was ended by Akash Deep, who won a leg-before verdict against Samarth on DRS.
Nair, who demoted himself to No 4, didn’t see the change work as his woeful run continued. He was trapped in front by Mukesh Kumar to leave Karnataka at 76 for three. Padikkal and Pandey survived some anxious moments to take it to another day.
Brief scores: Bengal 312 & 161 (Mithun 4/23, Gowtham 3/15) vs Karnataka 122 & 98/3 (Padikkal 50 n.o)