Karnataka beat Assam by an innings and 314 runs to claim bonus point

Karnataka defeated Assam by an innings and 314 runs at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday to claim a bonus point in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match on day three. The visitors wrapped up the game after declaring on 577 for six and bowling Assam out for 128 in their second innings.

Karnataka built a commanding lead across the first two days before declaring their only innings on 577 for six. K.V. Aneesh made 145, Rohan Patil scored 89, Mayank Agarwal 72 and Aneeshwar Gautam 83, while Manvanth Kumar remained unbeaten on 100; extras were 17. Assam, set a 442-run deficit to overturn, entered their second innings trailing by that margin.

Assam conceded the first breakthrough in the second innings when Vidwath Kaverappa trapped Pradyun Saikia lbw in the opening over, the first wicket taken by a pacer in the match. Manvanth Kumar also chipped in with the ball to dismiss Sumit Ghadigaonkar. Assam were all out for 128 inside 40.2 overs, with Denish Das the only batter to pass fifty, finishing on 50.

Karnataka's bowlers produced the bulk of the damage in the second innings: Shreyas Gopal finished with four wickets for 34, Shikhar Shetty took three for 33, Vidwath Kaverappa returned figures of 4-1-9-1, Manvanth 2-1-5-1 and Ritesh 7-0-35-1. Shreyas had earlier made inroads immediately after the lunch interval, taking wickets off consecutive balls in the first over after the break.

Denish Das's dismissal in the 39th over proved decisive as Karnataka removed the final three wickets without conceding another run. Shikhar Shetty's three wickets in the second innings gave him an eight-wicket match haul (eight for 86) and completed Karnataka's quick finish of the contest.

With the bonus-point victory, Karnataka moved to the top of the Elite Group B table with 16 points, while Assam remained sixth with seven points.