On a rank turner, Saurashtra spinners made merry to inflict first loss of the season on Karnataka as the Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy game ended with a day to spare here at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
It was the combination of Kamlesh Makwana (5/28) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (4/44) that did the job for Saurashtra once again as they scripted an 87-run victory.
When the day began, it was Karnataka who called the shots as they bundled out their opponents for a lowly 79. On a surface that produced uneven bounce apart from great turn, batting appeared extremely difficult. Expectedly, Karnataka spinners J Suchith (3/29), Pavan Deshpande (3/5) and Shreyas Gopal (3/10) ran through the Saurashtra batting.
The hosts however had a cushion of a 99-run lead and fancied their chances of defending a tricky target of 179. Karnataka needed two healthy partnerships to overhaul the score but they just got one in the 60-run stand between Karun Nair (30, 55b, 1x4) and Shreyas Gopal (27, 72b, 2x4) for the fourth wicket. Once Saurashtra broke the partnership, by dismissing Nair, it was all over for the eight-time champions as they surrendered meekly for 91 in 36.5 overs.
The victory took Saurashtra to the top of the table in the combined group (A & B) standings. They have 19 points from five games with two wins and three draws. Karnataka are eighth with 12 points from four games.