Karnataka stretched every sinew to tame an inspired Madhya Pradesh on the final day of entertaining and compelling cricket at the Holkar Stadium here on Monday. The five-wicket victory was achieved on the strength of an immensely disciplined innings from left-handed Amit Verma, who produced a match-winning performance (68 not out) in dramatic circumstances to ensure his team a semifinal slot in the Ranji Trophy.
Test of character
It was a test of character and Karnataka emerged unscathed. The Madhya Pradesh camp had every right to nurse a grudge against umpire Ameish Saheba, whose inconsistency was the lone sore point on a bright and competitive day. That, however, should not take away any credit from Karnataka, which restricted Madhya Pradesh, resuming at 312 for seven, to 337 and knocked off the 177 runs needed to win after some tense moments.
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Madhya Pradesh rocked Karnataka early when Sudhindra consumed Pawan and Ganesh Satish in the same over. It then tasted unexpected success when Manish Pandey, looking in a tearing hurry to finish the job, ran himself out. It was then left to Robin Uthappa and Verma as Madhya Pradesh smelt victory.
The whiff of a triumph galvanised Madhya Pradesh into a determined unit and the stage was set for an enthralling finish.
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Appeals grew. So did the tension. Karnataka dug in hard. Madhya Pradesh explored all possible avenues. The host was disheartened when a couple of leg-before appeals met with a cold response from Saheba.
Gradually, Karnataka gained a grip and Madhya Pradesh lost its. Some easy boundaries were conceded and Verma took control of the situation by bringing a high degree of commitment and solidity at the crease.
Verma actually happened to be the difference this day. He played some outstanding shots square of the wicket and his temperament guided the team to safety. His 125-ball show contained 10 boundaries. It was an effort worthy of the Man-of-the-match honours that came his way! He was the pick for Karnataka and left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma for Madhya Pradesh. A pity, Ankit happened to fight alone. Just as Verma.
The scores:
Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: 200.
Karnataka — 1st innings: 361.
Madhya Pradesh — 2nd innings: Naman Ojha b Mithun 68, Jalaj Saxena c Mithun b Joshi 22, Mohnish Mishra (run out) 45, Devendra Bundela lbw b Vinay 9, Abbas Ali c Gautam b Mithun 64, Harpreet Singh c Gautam b Joshi 19, Murtaza Ali (run out) 38, Ankit Sharma lbw b Vinay 32, T. Sudhindra (not out) 22, Anand Rajan lbw b Joshi 4, Amit Sharma lbw b Joshi 1; Extras (b-5, lb-5, nb-3): 13; Total (in 81.3 overs): 337.
Fall of wickets: 1-84, 2-140, 3-146, 4-168, 5-224, 6-260, 7-296, 8-328, 9-333.
Karnataka bowling: Vinay 20-1-81-2, Mithun 14-3-49-2, Joshi 31.3-5-108-4, Binny 2-0-17-0, Arvind 11-1-59-0, Satish 3-0-13-0.
Karnataka — 2nd innings: Robin Uthappa c Bundela b Ankit 37, K.B. Pawan lbw b Sudhindra 4, G. Satish c Ojha b Sudhindra 0, Manish Pandey (run out) 9, Amit Verma (not out) 68, Stuart Binny c Murtaza b Ankit 18, C.M. Gautam (not out) 31; Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-3, w-1): 13; Total (for five wkts. in 55 overs): 180.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-19, 3-38, 4-77, 5-109.
Madhya Pradesh bowling: T. Sudhindra 15-7-34-2, Anand Rajan 11-1-31-0, Amit Sharma 6-0-16-0, Jalaj Saxena 11-2-45-0, Ankit Sharma 11-1-38-2, Abbas Ali 1-0-7-0.