Press Trust of India
Mumbai, Mar 12: Defending champions Karnataka retained their Ranji Trophy title as they thrashed their southern counterparts Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs on the last day of the Ranji Trophy final here Thursday.
The Karnataka side had already set the stage for an outright victory when they bundled out Tamil Nadu for 134 in the first essay and put up a mammoth total of 762.
Chasing a first innings deficit of 628, Tamil Nadu were shot out for 411 in the final session of the fifth day’s play. Resuming the day on 113 for three, Tamil Nadu raised hopes of avoiding an outright defeat as Vijay Shankar (103, 164b, 18×4) and Dinesh Karthik (120, 112b, 21×4, 1×6) batted well and put on 115 runs for the fifth wicket.
But once leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (4/126) dismissed Karthik, the TN innings folded quickly. Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar picked up two wickets including that of Shankar to emerge as the joint leading wicket taker this season.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu 134 and 411 (Dinesh Karthik 120, Vijay Shankar 103, Shreyas Gopal 4/126) lost to Karnataka 762 by an innings and 217 runs.
