Gowtham helps Karnataka thrash J&K, seal semis spot

Jammu, February 24

Off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham snapped seven wickets as Karnataka sealed their place in the semifinals after thrashing Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs on the final day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal.

Resuming the day at 245/4, Karnataka added another 71 runs before folding for 316 in their second innings, setting the hosts a target of 331. Jammu and Kashmir were bundled out for 163, courtesy off-spinner Gowtham’s 7 for 54.

Earlier, Abid Mushtaq (6/83) claimed six wickets, Parvez Rasool (3/88) took three and Mujtaba Yousuf (1/44) dismissed one Karnataka batsman. Overnight batsman Krishnamurthy Siddharth (98) missed out on a well-deserved century, dismissed by Mushtaq in the 80th over. His wicket triggered a collapse as Karnataka kept losing wickets regularly. Srinivas Sharath (34) held on to one end and took the team across the 300-mark before departing in the 105th over.

Chasing 331 to win, opener Shubham Khajuria (30), Shubham Pundir (31), Aquib Nabi (26) and Umar Nazir (24) tried their bit but none of them could stay longer.

Bengal beat Odisha, storm into semis

Tangi (Odisha): Bengal stormed into the semifinals by virtue of their first innings lead over Odisha after only one session was possible on the final day which was interrupted by bad light. In the semifinals, Bengal will take on Karnataka at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Saurashtra will take on Gujarat at Rajkot from February 29. — Agencies