If Mumbai lasted a mere 15.3 overs on Wednesday, the visitors gave a relatively better display of their batting acumen on Thursday.
In remaining 61 for no loss in its second innings at close on the second day, while chasing 445 for an improbable victory over Karnataka, Mumbai showed, especially through skipper Aditya Tare’s (40 batting) rippling shots, that it is prepared for a scrap, though the Ranji Trophy semifinal seems headed the host’s way.
The match was almost in Karnataka’s grasp after it scored 286 in the second innings to gain an overall lead of 444, a figure that should impose scoreboard-pressure on Mumbai.
Resuming at 10 for two, Karnataka found brick and mortar through night-watchman Abhimanyu Mithun (89, 113b, 14x4) and emerging star R. Samarth (58, 117b, 6x4, 1x6), the duo’s third-wicket partnership yielding 149 runs off 218 deliveries.
Mithun struck anything that offered width, and the Mumbai seamers erred on that count. Just as Samarth remained calm and correct, Mithun freed his arms. It wasn’t exactly a tailender’s biff because the feet moved, the bat followed in sync but the impulse was based on aggression.
His 50 was raised through a garland of fours off Wilkin Mota and brute power was evident as he smashed left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh down the ground.
Mithun did streak a few through the slips, but he hung in there and when Shardul Thakur steamed in from the pavilion end, he pulled with aplomb.
Samarth added his own touch, with a fine flick off Thakur and though Mithun failed to counter a yorker and missed a century, Karnataka, at 161 for three, was sitting pretty at lunch.
Despite losing Samarth immediately on resumption, Karnataka motored on with Manish Pandey (42) and Karun Nair easing the lead past the 350-mark.
Harmeet was driven, seamers were pulled and the peach was Pandey’s stunning drive off Balwinder Singh Sandhu. And when the hosts pressed the accelerator they lost a cluster of wickets. But, Mumbai’s first-innings 44 had ensured that the defending champion was sitting on a firm cushion and Karnataka gained further embellishment through Shreyas Gopal’s cameo (23, 29b, 4x4) at the end.
The scores: Karnataka — 1st innings: 202 in 60.2 overs.
Mumbai — 1st innings: 44 in 15.3 overs
Karnataka — 2nd innings: Robin Uthappa c Mota b Thakur 4, K.L. Rahul c Tare b Sandhu 2, Abhimanyu Mithun b Thakur 89, R. Samarth st. Tare b Harmeet 58, Manish Pandey run out 42, Karun Nair c Tare b Sandhu 28, Kunal Kapoor c Suryakumar Yadav b Sandhu 2, C.M. Gautam c Herwadkar b Thakur 20, R. Vinay Kumar c & b Harmeet 4, Shreyas Gopal b Thakur 23, S. Arvind (not out) 2; Extras (b-12): 12; Total (in 77.5 overs): 286.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-10, 3-159,4-161, 5-222, 6-232, 7-233, 8-249, 9-261.
Mumbai bowling: Shardul Thakur 17.5-5-69-4, Balwinder Singh Sandhu 16-5-45-3, Wilkin Mota 12-3-45-0, Harmeet Singh 30-6-109-2, Siddhesh Lad 1-0-4-0, Suryakumar Yadav 1-0-2-0.
Mumbai — 2nd innings: Aditya Tare (batting) 40, Akhil Herwadkar (batting) 21; Total (for no loss in 17 overs): 61.
Karnataka bowling: R. Vinay Kumar 6-0-35-0, Abhimanyu Mithun 6-3-17-0, S. Arvind 4-2-7-0, Shreyas Gopal 1-0-2-0.
