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Karnataka lifts Ranji trophy for 7th time
Karnataka are champs, Kunal Nair, Karnataka and Maharashtra’s seventh Ranji Trophy, Robin Uthappa. K L Rahul’s 131 in the first innings fetched him the man of the match award.
Hyderabad: Kunal Nair’s merciless six helped Karnataka soar over Maharashtra’s spirited fight back and land up with their seventh Ranji Trophy title on the fifth and final day at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest 157-run target set by Maharashtra with over two sessions in hand, Robin Uthappa (36) and Amit Verma (38) made useful contributions to ensure that Karnataka coasted home easily.
Though Akshay Dharekar and Shrikanth Mundhe picked up a wicket each to create a mild resistance, Karnataka batsmen were too good on the day and chased down the target in 40.5 overs losing three wickets in the process.
K L Rahul’s 131 in the first innings fetched him the man of the match award.
"I was hoping I would save my best for the end and that's what happened,” he said after receiving the award.
On what it meant to win the title, he said, “It’s always a dream come true to win Ranji Trophy, so this feels great."
Maharashtra took home Ro one crore for their runner-up finish while Karnataka was richer by Rs two crore.
Earlier resuming the innings at 272 for six wickets, Maharashtra were all out after adding another 64 runs leaving Karnataka 157 to cement the title.
Robin Uthappa and K L Rahul put on a 65-run opening stand to give a rollicking start to the chase. Shrikanth Mundhe picked up Rahul’s wicket soon after but Manish Pandey (28) kept his cool and made sure Karnataka lost no wickets till tea. Amit Verma’s cameo worth 38 ended when Chirag Khurana bought off a stunning caught and bowled effort, which was too late in the day.
Later, the triumphant captain Vinay Kumar expressed his happiness at having joined the league of former skippers like Rahul Dravid.
“Lifting the Ranji Trophy is a great honour. It was a team effort,” he said.
Maharashtra skipper Rohit Motwani said that he was proud of his side, which helped reach this stage from where they could only go a rung higher.
Brief scores: Karnataka 515 (KL Rahul 131, G Satish 117, Fallah 3/93) and 157/3 bt Maharashtra 305 (Bawne 89) and 366 (K Jadhav 112, R Vinay 4/116, S Gopal 4/47).
