Rajneesh Gurbani claimed the remaining three Karnataka wickets on the fifth morning to help Vidarbha to a nerve-wracking five-run win in the semi-final. In Vidarbha’s maiden semi-final appearance, Gurbani picked 5/94 in the first innings and returned to claim 7/68 in the second innings.
Vidarbha will now take on Delhi in the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 final in Indore from December 29th to 2nd January.
Vidarbha vs Karnataka in Kolkata: On the last day of the thrilling semi-final clash, Karnataka needed 87 runs to win while Vidarbha required three wickets.
Shreyas Gopal, who was dropped on zero by Wasim Jaffer was batting on one with skipper Vinay Kumar on 19 when Karnataka resumed their innings on 111 for seven on the last day. With their task cut out, the Karnataka captain milked runs off the Vidarbha attack. The former champions had reached 141 at a quick pace when Vinay, who was leading the charge, edged Gurbani to the wicketkeeper and returned for 36.
Abhimanyu Mithun, who replaced Vinay in the middle kept the momentum going with his stroke making and Karnataka were cruising forward when Gurbani once again applied the breaks. Mithun departed for 33 (off 26) taking the aerial route. The young pacer, who was throwing himself around in the field plugging the runs then accounted for Arvind Sreenath to bowl Vidarbha to a stunning win.
Scorecard - http://www.bcci.tv/ranji-trophy-2017-18/match/90
