Mumbai knocked out of Ranji Trophy; K L Rahul's century guides Karnataka to victory

K L Rahul struck his 24th hundred in first-class cricket to anchor Karnataka's brilliant four-wicket victory over 42-time champions Mumbai that steered the southern side into the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy, in Mumbai, on Monday.

Rahul made 130 off 182 balls with the help 14 boundaries and a six to set up Karnataka's win in their quarter-final fixture at the  at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, in Mumbai. The visitors were chasing a steep 325. 

Karnataka will take on Uttarakhand in the semi-finals to be played next week.

Rahul-Smaran's match-winning stand

Rahul, who is a prominent member of the Indian Test and ODI squads, found an able ally in Ravichandran Smaran, as the duo stitched together a match-winning partnership of 147 runs for the fourth wicket on the fourth day.

Smaran remained not out on a composed 83 off 123 ball, and struck 11 fours.

Thanks to Rahul's knock, Karnataka, the eight-time Ranji Trophy winners, were cruising at 265 or three when the lunch break was taken. 

However, his magnificent knock came to an end soon after lunch as he was dismissed by Tushar Deshpande. Karnataka was still some distance from the target of 325 at that stage.

Smaran stands tall for Karnataka

The big breakthrough gave Mumbai a glimmer of hope as their bowlers -- Deshande and Tanush Kotian -- dismissed two more to leave Karnataka at 285 for six and a good 40 runs from the target.

However, the 22-year-old Smaran, who has already amassed over 1000 runs in first-class cricket at an incredible average of 69.94, showed great character under pressure and stayed on till Vidyadhar Patil hit the winning runs for Karnataka, the second most successful team in the Ranji Trophy after Mumbai.

During his stay in the middle, the 33-year-old Rahul looked like a man on a mission and even after reaching his century, he just raised his bat briefly before going back to take guard once again. 

Rahul reached his hundred by nudging Kotian through the off-side for four. 

Rahul's presence has been a huge positive for Karnataka since he joined the team late in the group stage, where he posted a first-innings fifty against Punjab.

The India batter made 28 in the first innings but Karnataka managed a vital lead of 53 runs, which helped them greatly in their second innings chase.

Brief Scores:

Karnataka: 325/6 in 73.4 overs (K L Rahul 130, Smaran Ravichandran 83, Vidyadhar Patil 31; Shardul Thakur 2/55) & 173.

Mumbai: 377 all out and 120.