Ranji Trophy 2017-18: Rajneesh Gurbani Four-for helps Vidarbha to tighten grip over Karnataka

At stumps on day four, Karnataka was reeling at 111 for seven in 43 overs, the fast bowler Rajneesh Gurbani was again on the role to bag four wickets at the iconic Eden Garden Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday (December 20).

So far, Gurbani conceded just 35 runs in 15 overs. He further sent down three maiden overs.

The bad light come to the effect to eventually force the umpires for calling off the day bit early, Vidarbha bowlers made a resounding comeback to break the back of the Karnataka batting line-up, as Vinay Kumar-led side is 87 runs away to make it to the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 final and that somewhat looks a daunting task for the side.

Owing to the fightback by Vidarbha, Karnataka faced a major setback while losing wickets at regular intervals which left the all-important semi-final contest wide open, as the former side is further on the cusp of scripting the history.

Interestingly, in the first innings, Gurbani played an imperative role which saw him collecting a five-wicket haul when Karnataka was going stronger in the game.

On the other side, Siddesh Neral claimed two wickets in his ten overs. The 23-year-old medium pacer conceded 37 runs which further saw him completing four maidens.

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To resume the innings on the fifth day, skipper Vinay is batting on 29-ball 19. He smashed two boundaries and a six, as Shreyas Gopal faced ten balls for a single.

Coming to the bat in the second innings, Karnataka lost the first wicket in the form of Mayank Agarwal at the team total of seven in 2.4 overs.

Middle-order batsman Karun Nair scored 30 off 41 balls as opening batsman Ravikumar Samarth managed to post 65-ball 24.

Wicket-keeper batsman CM Gautam scored 24 off 53 balls. Out of seven Karnataka batters, five didn’t go past the double-digit mark.

Earlier, in the first session, Vidarbha resumed their second innings at 195 for four with the lead of 79 runs.

Faiz Fazal-led Vidarbha added 118 runs before the side set the target of 198 runs for Karnataka.

For Vidarbha, impressive Ganesh Satish was the top-scorer with 81 off 168 balls. The 29-year-old right-handed batsman smashed ten boundaries in his hard-fought knock for his team.

Vinay shouldered the responsibility which saw him collecting three wickets in 18.1 overs after giving away 71 runs.

Stuart Binny bagged three wickets, as Shreyas Gopal picked the wicket of Umesh Yadav (13 off 14).
Gurbani remained not out on 27-ball seven before springing a surprise to make the premium first-class competition riveting.