Gowtham’s 7-wkt haul helps Karnataka thrash J&K; enter semis

Batsman struggling to make ground during a Ranji Trophy match between J&K and Karnataka in Jammu. -Excelsior/Rakesh
Batsman struggling to make ground during a Ranji Trophy match between J&K and Karnataka in Jammu. -Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 24: Off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham spun web around Jammu and Kashmir batsmen and scalped 7 important wickets as Karnataka sealed berth in the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy at GGM Science College ground, here today.
Earlier, resuming the day at 245 for four, 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 (7/54) seven-wicket haul.
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), middle-order batsman Shubham Pundir (31) and tail-enders Aquib Nabi (26) and Umar Nazir (24) tried their bit but none of them could stay longer to raise any hope of a successful chase.
Brief Score:
Karnataka 1st innings: 206 all out in 69.1 overs.
J&K 1st innings: 192 all out in 62.4 overs (SP Khajuria 62, Abdul Samad 43; M Prasidh Krishna 4/42)
Karnataka 1st innings: 316 allout in 106.5 overs (KV Siddharth 98; Abid Mushtaq 6/83).
J&K 1st innings: 163 allout in 44.4 overs (SS Pundir 31; K Gowtham 7/54).