Ranji Trophy: Karnataka thrash Mumbai by 5 wickets
Mumbai: Putting up an all-round show, Karnataka defeated Mumbai by 5 wickets in their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy game here on Sunday, inside two-and-half days. This was Mumbai's second consecutive loss at home, following their defeat against Railways. It is also Karnataka's fourth outright win against Mumbai since the 2013-14 season.
Chasing 126 for an outright win, Karnataka openers R Samarth (34; 2x4) and Devdutt Padikkal (50; 5x4, 2x6) gave the team a solid start and the visitors were racing towards the target as they were 77/0 at lunch. Samarth was batting on 27, while Paddikal was the more aggressive one, being unbeaten on 50. However, post lunch offie Shashank Attarde (4-52) pegged back the visitors by taking two wickets.
He trapped Padikkal in front of the wicket and then dismissed Abhishek Reddy (4) as Karnataka were 84-2. It became 91/3 as Shams Mulani cleaned up Samarth. Debutant Rohan Kadam (21) and skipper Karun Nair (10) brought the side on the cusp of a win when Attarde removed Kadam. Karnataka needed eight more runs.
In the same over, Attarde sent back Nair. Shreyas Gopal (5 not out) and B R Sharath (4 not out) took the side home without any further damage. Earlier, resuming the day on 109/5, Attarde (10) joined overnight batsman Sarfaraz Khan (71 not out). The two added 25-runs for the sixth wicket.
Sarfaraz was playing a responsible knock as he kept on increasing Mumbai's lead, but was falling short of partners. Left-arm pacer Prateek Jain (4-11) grabbed all the wickets in the morning session as he ran through the Mumbai's lower order.
Attarde's resistance came to an end, after he edged a short-pitched ball in the slip cordon with Mumbai at 134/6. From 134/6, Mumbai's innings ended at 149/9.
It was already announced that Prithvi Shaw, who sustained a shoulder injury and was rushed to the National Cricket Academy on Saturday, would not bat in the second essay.
Jain gave a double blow to Mumbai in the 48th over, when he dismissed Tushar Deshpande (6) and Deepak Shetty (0). While Jain cleaned up Deshpande, he forced Shetty to nick.
Last man Royston Dias (0) lasted just six balls as he too was cleaned up by Jain. For Mumbai, apart from Sarfaraz, no other batsman stood tall.
Karnataka had bundled out Mumbai for 194 in the first essay and then taken a slender 24-run lead. The 41-time domestic champions next play Tamil Nadu in Chennai from January 11.
Nair praised his bowlers for restricting Mumbai in the second innings and also said the target was "gettable". He also said in low-scoring game, any lead is important.
He also praised Padikkal and Sharath for their knocks. Mumbai captain Suryakumar Yadav said they failed as a unit. He also said that when he got out Shaw approached him to bat, but they did not take the risk, as he even could not lift his plate.
"When I saw him (Shaw) it was not that good. Even after me getting out, he came upto me and the manager, (saying) that I would love to bat. But we had a word with physio and the coach and it was not looking that good. We did not want to get it more severe. The physio had to take that call... when we he was having his lunch, he was not able to lift his plate," said Surya.
Surya also praised Rahane for taking responsibility and opening the batting in the second innings.
Meanwhile in Vadodara, Baroda thrashed Railways by 99 runs.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 194 and 149/9 (Sarfaraz Khan 71 not out, Shams Mulani 31; Prateek Jain 4-11) vs Karnataka 218 and 129/5 (Devdutt Padikkal 50, R Samarth 34; Shashank Attarde 4-52).
Karnataka 6 points, Mumbai 0 points.
At Vadodara: Baroda 201 and 98 vs Railways 99 and101 (Karn Sharma 38; L Meriwala 6-25, A Sheth 3-43).
Baroda won by 99 runs.
Baroda 6 points, Railways 0 points.
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Nine Naxalites carrying cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh surrender in Chhattisgarh
Sukma, Jan 11: Nine hardcore Naxalites, allegedly involved in attacks on security forces and carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 43 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday, police said.
The cadres, including two women, turned themselves in before senior officials from the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) here, citing disappointment with "hollow" and "inhuman" Maoist ideology and infighting within the outlawed outfit, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
He said the surrendered Naxalites were also impressed by the state government's 'Niyad Nellanar' (your good village) scheme, which aims at facilitating development works in remote villages and stated that senior cadres were on backfoot with the increasing pressure of security forces and setting up of police camps in interior areas.
The official said Ransai alias Oyam Buska (34), the commander of platoon no 24 of Maoists, and Pradip alias Ravva Rakesh (20), a member under a company wing of PLGA battalion no. 1, were carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each.
He said four other cadres carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, a woman Naxalite carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh, and two others, including a woman, carried a bounty of Rs 2 lakh each.
Chavan said Ransai was allegedly involved in attacks, including the Jhara Ghati ambush in Narayanpur district in 2007, wherein seven policemen were killed; the 2007 Ranibodli (Bijapur district) attack, in which 55 security personnel died; the 2017 ambush in Burkapal (Sukma), where 25 CRPF personnel were killed and the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma) that killed 17 security personnel.
The other surrendered cadres were also involved in multiple attacks on security forces, he said.
Personnel from Konta police station, District Reserve Guard (DRG), Intelligence Branch Team and 2nd and 223rd battalions played a crucial role in their surrender, he said.
The official said the surrendered Naxalites were provided Rs 25,000 each and will be further rehabilitated as per the government's policy.
Last year, 792 Naxalites had surrendered in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma.
