Karnataka beat Tripura by an innings and 116 runs in Ranji Trophy match in Mysuru

Karnataka defeated Tripura by an innings and 116 runs in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match in Mysuru on Thursday. The result ended Karnataka’s wait for a first win in the competition.

Karnataka head coach Vinay Kumar said he was pleased to register his first win in charge but added that the team’s display fell short of expectations. “If you ask me, we definitely could have done much, much better as a team. The kind of standard we have as the Karnataka team — a much better performance is expected from the players,” Vinay said candidly.

Contrary to expectations, seamers V. Vyshak and Manvanth Kumar did the early damage on a last-day pitch, claiming two wickets apiece. Vyshak triggered the slide by removing nightwatcher Parvez Sultan (14) before taking out a well-set Sridam Paul (50, 81b, 2x4, 3x6), who edged one to wicketkeeper K.L. Shrijith. Manvanth then dismissed Tripura skipper Manisankar Murasingh for eight.

K.L. Shrijith produced a one-handed catch to send Sentu Sarkar (15) back to the pavilion, and leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal cleaned up the tail soon after the break. The home side wrapped up proceedings shortly after lunch on the final day.

Vinay was critical of Karnataka’s batting approach despite the margin of victory, saying the side lacked attacking intent against an inexperienced Tripura attack. “We could have definitely batted a bit more freely. But when I spoke to the batters, they said the pitch was not that easy. It was keeping low. With smaller teams like this (Tripura), they know their business and stick to the basics. That is why the batters felt it was not that easy to score runs,” Vinay said. “However, we can’t give that kind of excuse. We could have been a bit more aggressive, especially because we hadn’t won our previous two games,” he added.

The scores: Tripura — 1st innings: 194. Karnataka — 1st innings: 490/9 decl.

Tripura — 2nd innings: Bikramkumar Das c Mayank b Shreyas 26, Hrituraj Roy c Rohan b Shreyas 13, Babul Dey lbw b Shreyas 28, Sridam Paul c Shrijith b Vyshak 50, Parvez Sultan c Rohan b Vyshak 14, Mandeep Singh (not out) 20, Manisankar Murasingh c Shrijith b Manvanth 8, Sentu Sarkar c Shrijith b Manvanth 15, Bikramjit Debnath c Shrijith b Shreyas 3, Sandip Sarkar run out 0, Abhijit Sarkar b Shreyas 0; Extras (b-1, lb-2): 3; Total (in 78.1 overs): 180.

Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-46, 3-96, 4-128, 5-133, 6-145, 7-163, 8-178, 9-179.

Karnataka bowling: Manvanth 10-1-42-2, Vyshak 15-6-31-2, Shreyas 23.1-6-36-5, Bhatkal 8-1-16-0, Shikhar 22-5-52-0.

The victory earned Karnataka seven points. Those seven points offered the side some breathing room in Elite Group B.