Karnataka implode in spectacular fashion

Bengaluru: Karnataka suffered an implosion of epic proportions to snatch defeat from the hands of victory against Gujarat in their second Group C Ranji Trophy encounter in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Chasing a paltry 110 for a second successive win, Karnataka were cruising along at 50/0. The way openers Mayank Agarwal, who scored a century in the first innings, and Devdutt Padikkal were batting, it looked like the visitors were determined to bag the bonus point -- seven points are awarded for a 10-wicket win instead of the usual six -- after missing out on a similar opportunity against Punjab in Hubballi last week. 

Cricket is a funny game and strange things have happened. And it occurred at the Narendra Modi Stadium as Karnataka spectacularly collapsed to 103 all out with the wrecker-in-chief being left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai who bagged 7/42 in 13 overs. 

So, did the pitch play a part in Karnataka's monumental collapse? It was a typical fourth-day red-soil wicket that offered help for the spinners with turn and bounce but nothing that that Karnataka batters couldn't have negotiated. They have only themselves to blame with several of them guilty of playing rash shots when a steady head and application was the need of the hour.

Agarwal and Padikkal kick-started the process and the rest just aped them. Agarwal tried to glide Desai and ended up nicking to Manan Hingrajia at slips while Padikkal's charge down the wicket resulted in him spooning the ball to Ripal Patel.

The crafty Desai, just 23 years old but already a regular starter for Gujarat with a best effort of 8/66, was fired up after the double blow. He would then land a third after Nikin Jose played inside the line and edged to 'keeper Het Patel. At 56/3, Karnataka were feeling the heat.

Desai and Gujarat, sensing something special, kept creating pressure with tight bowling and ultra-attacking field placements. Karnataka just needed someone to steady the ship with a determined batting but Desai offered no respite. 

He took out the seasoned Manish Pandey for a duck with a vicious ball in the 16th over and then the relentless pressure was too much for debutant Sujay Sateri to handle as his attempted slog saw him miss the ball completely and stumps rattled. Pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar lasted a mere one ball and Karnataka were now staring down the barrel at 74/6 in the 18th over.

Hope then hinged on Samarth, the regular opener coming in at number six after being bitten by a viral bug. Known for his orthodox style of batting, Samarth played a shot that he won't be happy watching it again. Stepping down to Rinkesh Vaghela (3/38), he totally missed it, leaving keeper Het with an easy stumping. 

Spinning all-rounder Shubhang Hegde offered some hope with counter-attacking batting but when he departed for a 27, it was pretty much curtains for Karnataka. Prasidh Krishna, forced to bat despite suffering a quadriceps injury, was the last to go, a mighty swipe resulting in his stumps being rattled.

Gujarat players celebrated vehemently while Karnataka just couldn't believe the harakiri they had committed.