Ranji Trophy | Emanjot resurrects Punjab after Karnataka bowlers fail to drive home the advantage

The visitors, who are third in Elite Group-B with 21 points, need an outright win to ensure qualification for the knockouts without help from other teams. But at the I.S. Bindra PCA Stadium on Thursday, Karnataka did not show the required ruthlessness.

The fact that both sides lined up with spin-heavy attacks and a Shubman Gill-less Punjab opted to bat indicated that the pitch was predominantly dry and that first-innings runs would be crucial.

But apart from leggie Shreyas Gopal (three for 48) and pacer Vidyadhar Patil (three for 46), the rest failed to bowl tight lines for sustained periods. Left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty’s travails were particularly stark, for the 20-year-old sprayed the ball and couldn’t capitalise on the moderate amount of turn on offer.

After Prabhsimran Singh fell early, Abhijeet Garg (81, 133b, 8×4, 2×6) and captain Uday Saharan (44, 72b, 6×4, 1×6) put on 102 flawless runs. Garg was compact on the off-side and expansive on the on-side while Saharan came up with an array of beautiful drives.

However, from 108 for one, Punjab slipped to 168 for six. Offie Mohsin Khan sent back Saharan, before Shreyas grabbed two in two, including the wicket of Anmolpreet Singh, who was foxed by a googly first ball.

Vidyadhar’s nagging fourth-stump line fetched the right reward as Anmol Malhotra (25, 46b, 2×4, 1×6) was caught behind. But 21-year-old Emanjot Singh Chahal (77 batting, 134b, 8×4, 1×6) and Ayush Goyal (23, 82b, 2×4) added 81 runs to resurrect Punjab. The former batted freely, using his feet well and collecting boundaries at will.

A fine stumping from debutant wicket-keeper Kruthik Krishna ended that association but No. 10 batter Sukhdeep Bajwa added 20 runs to further frustrate the away side. Karnataka now needs nothing short of a superlative batting effort.

The scores:

Punjab — 1st innings: Abhijeet Garg c Rahul b Shreyas 81, Prabhsimran Singh c Shikhar b Vidyadhar 5, Uday Saharan c Rahul b Mohsin 44, Jashanpreet Singh c Mohsin b Shreyas 6, Anmolpreet Singh b Shreyas 0, Anmol Malhotra c Kruthik b Vidyadhar 25, Emanjot Singh Chahal (batting) 77, Ayush Goyal st. Kruthik b Mohsin 23, Harpreet Brar c Kruthik b Vidyadhar 9, Sukhdeep Bajwa b Prasidh 20, Anmoljeet Singh (batting) 0; Extras: (lb-12, w-1): 13; Total (for nine wkts. in 91 overs): 303.

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-108, 3-119, 4-119, 5-168, 6-168, 7-249, 8-272, 9-309.

Karnataka bowling: Prasidh 14-1-58-1, Vidyadhar 15-4-46-3, Shikhar 15-2-54-0, Mohsin 25-0-85-2, Shreyas 22-6-48-3.

Toss: Punjab.