Sports
Karnataka overwhelm Tamil Nadu to retain Ranji title
Mumbai, March 12
Karnataka successfully
defended their Ranji Trophy title in emphatic style as they trounced
Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs in the final at the Wankhede
Stadium here on Thursday.
Tottering at 113 for three overnight in
their second innings after conceding a 628-run first innings lead,
Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 411 runs to add to their first innings
score of 134.
Baba Aparajith (68) and Vijay Shankar (103) put up a
brave fight. After Aparajith’s departure with the scoreboard reading
191/4, it was veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik who tried
steadying the sinking Tamil Nadu ship.
Right-hander Karthik notched up a 115-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Shankar and was fluent in his stroke-making.
But
then it was Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar (2/43) who broke the
partnership getting rid of Shankar holding onto a return catch.
Karthik
continued in his merry ways, but the batters around him fell prey to
Shreyas Gopal’s (4/126) spin and Sreenath Aravind’s (2/52) movement and
pace.
Earlier in the match, Karnataka had put on a monumental
total of 762 runs in their first innings. Right-hand middle-order
batsman Karun Nair scored 328 -- the highest in a Ranji Trophy final in
the 92-year history of the country's premier domestic cricket
tournament.
Nair, 23, went past Baroda batsman Gul Mohammad's 319
made against Holkar in the 1946-47 season final. Nair got good support
from India Test Opener Lokesh Rahul (188) and the duo forged a 384-run
stand for the sixth wicket.
Skipper R. Vinay Kumar also scored a
ton (105) to ensure they amassed a monumental total of 762 all out.
Vinay became the first captain to pick up a five-wicket haul and score a
century in a Ranji final. He was only the second cricketer to achieve
the feat after Vijay Hazare's heroics in 1946-47 final.
After
conceding the mammoth lead, Tamil Nadu went down by an innings and 217
runs, allowing Karnataka to lay their hands on their second consecutive
and eighth Ranji Trophy title.
"It is a big moment for us. I
would like to thank all the players, they have worked hard to achieve
this milestone. I am very happy with my own performance," skipper Vinay
said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Ultimately,
winning the Ranji Trophy is important. As I said last year, we have a
good bunch of players. If we keep performing we will dominate the Indian
domestic circuit. Next we will play the Irani Trophy and will try to
win that."
Losing captain Abhinav Mukund said: "We really did
well in the first day. We could have batted better, but its history now.
Rahul and Karun Nair took the game away from us."
Mukund, however, was satisfied with the performance throughout the season.
"It
has been a great season. After a poor start we have made to the finals.
We will go back to the drawing board. We have competed well, I made
around 800 runs. I could have carried on, but we ran into a good side."
Brief
scores: Tamil Nadu 134 all out, 411 all out (Dinesh Karthik 120, Vijay
Shankar 103; Shreyas Gopal 4/126; Vinay Kumar 2/43)) lose to Karnataka
762 all out. Karnataka win by an innings and 217 runs.