Ranji Trophy: Saurashtra secures three points in drawn match with Karnataka at Alur Grounds
Saurashtra and Karnataka played out a draw in a Ranji Trophy match at the Alur Grounds near Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, with Saurashtra claiming the three available points after taking a narrow first-innings lead.
The outcome continued Saurashtra’s strong recent record against Karnataka: in the last seven meetings between the sides, Saurashtra has won four times and taken the first-innings lead on three occasions. Karnataka posted 342 in 111.3 overs in their first innings while Saurashtra replied with 349 in 108.3 overs, a sequence that left Karnataka trailing by seven after the visitors’ last two batters added 46 runs on Tuesday to secure that slim advantage.
Karnataka’s second innings was led by K.V. Aneesh, who made 79 off 159 balls with five fours and one six, and K.L. Shrijith, who scored 52 off 76 balls with five fours; the side declared at 243 for seven in 64.1 overs (overnight 99 for two), setting Saurashtra a target of 237 from 49 overs. Other contributors included Rohan Patil 38 and Karun Nair 33; the fall of wickets in the second innings read 1-45, 2-56, 3-117, 4-198, 5-225, 6-238, 7-243.
Saurashtra’s chase lost opener Harvik Desai early when he was bowled by Manvanth Kumar in the sixth over, and the visitors then batted out until the 42nd over to finish on 137 for two. Chirag Jani remained unbeaten on 63 from 117 balls with seven fours and two sixes, Jay Gohil was 22 not out and Hetvik Kotak scored 25; extras were 17 (b-8, lb-1, w-8) and the fall of wickets was 1-12, 2-77.
Saurashtra finished the match with six points for the season after taking the first-innings lead. Karnataka coach R. Vinay Kumar said the team remained positive despite having just two points after two games and singled out two performances from the first innings as positives: Manvanth Kumar’s 135 off 214 balls (11 fours, six sixes) and Vidwath Kaverappa’s four for 57. “The points table says something else but I think we are on track,” Vinay told reporters. “We didn’t start well. It was not that easy to bat first under cloudy conditions. But it was a good game.” He added that fielding and decision-making by the batters were areas for improvement ahead of the Tripura fixture starting on Monday in Mysuru.
Saurashtra’s bowlers in Karnataka’s second innings returned the following figures: Sakariya 9-0-49-1, Bhut 25.1-2-80-3, Panwar 4-0-23-1, Jani 3-0-12-0, Prerak 6-0-21-0, Gajjar 17-1-53-2. Karnataka’s bowlers in Saurashtra’s second innings were Kaverappa 8-1-11-0, Manvanth 7-1-29-1, Vyshak 8-4-9-0, Abhilash 6-0-29-0, Shreyas 12-1-42-1, Aneeshwar 1-0-8-0.
Saurashtra will next face Assam at home, while Karnataka’s next fixture is against Tripura, starting on Monday in Mysuru.
