Karn Sharma bowled India Red to a 170-run win with a six-wicket haul to wrap-up India Green for 303 runs in the second innings in the Duleep Trophy, 2017. With a 6/94 in the second innings, the leg spinner who had taken 4/39 in the first innings registered his maiden ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Earlier, resuming the 474-run chase at 98 for two, Karun Nair made a fighting century to keep the opposition at bay for better part of the final day of the match. With his overnight partner R Samarth, he took India Green to 126 until the opener was sent back by Karn. With the end of the third wicket partnership for 89, Ankit Bawane joined the middle-order bat in the middle. However, 38 runs later, Bawane was bowled by Siddharth Kaul which brought Parthiv Patel to the crease.
The India Green captain and Nair then took the team to Tea at 173 for four. The pair plodded on as they strove to keep the innings afloat. However, it was Karn again who ended Parthiv’s resistance to leave the team on 213 for five. Continuing to hold the fort, Nair then took the team to Dinner at 267 for five Mayank Dagar.
However, in the first over the final session, Nair was sent back by Kaul. With the end of the middle-order bat’s 120-run 203-ball stay at the crease, India Red came within sniffing distance of victory. Kaul accounted for Shahbaz Nadeem and Mohammed Siraj to finish with a four-for while Karn dismissed Navdeep Saini and Dagar to seal victory.
Result – India Red won by 170 runs and gained 6 points from the outright win.
End of Day 1: India Red 1st inn 232/5 in 86 overs (P Panchal 105, D Karthik 15*, Gowtham K 10*, M Vijay 2/15, K Nair 2/17)
End of Day 2: India Red 1st inn 323/10 in 110.5 overs (D Karthik 50, M Vijay 3/46, Md Siraj 2/43); India Green 1st inn 157/10 in 49.5 overs (P Chopra 65, Gowtham K 5/46, K Sharma 4/39); India Red 2nd inn 19/1 in 13 overs (P Panchal 11*, R Gahlaut 1*) Lead by 185 runs
End of Day 3: India Red 2nd inn 307/2 in 75 overs (P Panchal 133*, D Karthik 100*, M Vijay 2/41); India Green 2nd inn 98/2 in 30 overs (Samarth R 46*, K Nair 36*, K Sharma 2/34) Need 376 runs to win
End of Day 4: India Green 2nd inn 303/10 in 89.2 overs (K Nair 120, K Sharma 6/94, S Kaul 4/46)
