Ranji Trophy: Haryana bag three points against Karnataka

Mysuru: Haryana fell two wickets short of claiming their first outright victory against defending champions Karnataka but the Virender Sehwag-led side bagged their first three points of the season in the drawn Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match, here on Sunday.

After an exemplary 136 by Sehwag in the first innings, Haryana bowlers made it count in the rest of the four-day encounter as the hosts, who came close to losing their first Ranji game in almost three years, were left in tatters at 202 for eight while chasing a victory target of 373 runs.]

Off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who scored a century during his 206-run third-wicket stand with Sehwag, picked 6 wickets in the final innings to give the Vinay Kumar-side a scare in the final session of the fourth day.

For the visitors, Nitin Saini also scored a useful 52 in the second innings as Sehwag struck a 40, while dropping himself to number seven. Off-spinner Rahul Dagar's three wickets are also worth a mention, which helped bundle out Karnataka for 221 in their first innings.

In their second outing, Robin Uthappa (66) gave the hosts a good start but Yadav soon spun a web after sharing the new ball with pace spearhead Harshal Patel. Harshal and Ashish Hooda picked up a wicket each.

Yadav tasted his first blood after he claimed the prized wicket of Samarth, who was caught by H J Rana. The Haryana spinner then sent back top Karnataka batsmen Karun Nair, Uthappa and Chidambaram Gautam, leaving Karnataka struggling at 164 for five.

Vinay (3) was picked up by Patel, following which Yadav claimed next two wickets of Jagaeesha Suchith (6) and Shreyas Gopal (24), leaving Karnataka hopelessly situated at 197 for eight, needing 176 runs more to register an outright victory.

With uncertainties looming large of the availability of the indisposed H S Sharath and injured Pandey to join Mathias, Pandey walked into the middle with three stitches in his right hand and faced the odds whilst bearing the pain.

Brief Scores:

Haryana 170 and 262

Karnataka 221 and 202/8 in 98 overs (Robin Uthappa 66, Lokesh Rahul 24; Jayant Yadav 6-65)

Points: Haryana 3, Karnataka 1.