Kolkata: Vidarbha stood on the verge of sealing their maiden Ranji Trophy final spot as they left fancied Karnataka, chasing 198, in a spot of bother at 111 for seven on the fourth day of their last four clash at the Eden Gardens here Wednesday.
At stumps on the penultimate day, Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar (19 batting) and Shreyas Gopal (one batting were battling to see their side through.
Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 195 for four, Vidarbha posted 313 which gave them an overall lead of 197 runs. Even though former Karnataka player, now playing as a pro for Vidarbha, Ganesh Satish (81, 168b, 10×4) could add only 10 runs to his overnight score, useful contributions from the lower-order gave Vidarbha a platform to fight on. Satish was bowled by Abhimanyu Mithun (1/47).
Aditya Sarwate (55, 92b, 5×4. 1×6), Apporv Wankhade (49, 48b, 9×4) and Akshay Wadkar (28, 59b, 3×4) defended dourly to frustrate the Karnataka bowlers for whom Vinay Kumar (3/71) and Stuart Binny (3/74) shared six wickets.
However, chasing a modest victory target, Karnataka went on losing wickets at regular intervals and were definitely staring down the barrel at stumps on the fourth day. The pace of Rajnees Gurbani (4/35) had all the Karnataka batsmen in trouble and they now have tough act to follow on the last day, Thursday.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 185 and 313 (Ganesh Satish 81, Aditya Sarwate 55, R Vinay Kumar 3/71); Karnataka 301 and 111 for seven (Rajneesh Gurbani 4/35). Match to continue.
Press Trust of India