Karnataka gets Ranji Trophy

• Posted by T Ghosh February 2, 2014 - Filed in Sports - #cricket  #karnataka  - 1,195 views

  Karnataka won their seventh Ranji Trophy title after beating a spirited Maharashtra side by seven wickets on the fifth and concluding day of the final match on Sunday. Chasing a modest victory target of 157 in little over two sessions, Karnataka batsmen reached the destination with ease as they knocked off the runs in 40.5 overs.
  
  Robin Uthappa (36), KL Rahul (29) and Amit Verma (38) made useful contributions as Karnataka made amends for their disappointing six-run loss during the 2009-10 final against Mumbai.
  
  Young opener Rahul was awarded the man-of-the-match for his century in the first innings while Karnataka were richer by Rs 2 crore.
  
  Maharashtra earned a purse of Rs 1 crore but what would be more disappointing is the fact that they couldn't break their more than seven decade long jinx of not being able to win the national title.
  
  But one needs to laud Maharashtra for trying to make a match of it despite being down and out by the second day itself.
  
  Starting the final day at 272 for six, Maharashtra's tail wagged as they scored 366 with Shrikant Mundhe contributing 42 off 75 balls.
  
  The target of 157 was never going to be a tall-order for Karnataka with huge depth in their batting. Although Maharashtra seamer Samad Fallah intially asked some questions but Uthappa hit a flurry of boundaries to help Karnataka stay firmly on course.
  
  
  "Catches win matches and that was important and we dropped a few but we overcame quite well on the second day with seven wickets. If we had taken those, we would have given a better fight. When we made it to quarter-finals, that's when we thought we can lift the Ranji Trophy.
  
  "The hope started building up from there, even the Bengal game finished in three games. Only thing was we didn't bat well on day one and things didn't go our way. The batting - Jadhav, Khadiwale, Bawne and till No. 8 they all contributed, with the bowlers who took 35-40 wickets."