Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Wriddhiman, Sudip Gharami impress as Bengal vs Karnataka match ends in draw
Xtra Time Web Desk: On the final day, Bengal had a chance to win the match. However, instead of a victory, the match ended in a dull draw against Karnataka. Bengal earned three points due to having a lead in the first innings. The first outright victory in this season's Ranji Trophy still remains elusive. The only positives from the final day of Anustup Majumdar's team were Sudip Gharami's return to form and the good bowling performance by young pacer Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal.
In total, Surya took six wickets, with three wickets in each innings. Sudip Gharami scored his fifth first-class century, marking his first after the semifinal against Madhya Pradesh two seasons ago. He became the first Bengal player in Ranji Trophy history to score a century while batting at number three against Karnataka. Sudip remained unbeaten at 101 runs.
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At one point, Bengal had lost five wickets for just 160 runs. During this time, the experienced Wriddhiman Saha came in to support Sudip. Wriddhi, playing his last season, showed that he was far from finished. He played an aggressive 63-run innings off 70 balls, which included seven boundaries and one six.
The day began with Bengal having scored 127 runs for three wickets. Anustup's team went on to declare the innings at 283 runs for five wickets. In response, Karnataka ended the day at 110 runs for three wickets. The match ended in a draw. To win, Karnataka needed to chase an almost impossible target of 364 runs set by Bengal.
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Karnataka was well aware that chasing such a target was nearly impossible, so they aimed only for a draw. However, Surya gave Bengal some hope by dismissing both openers, Mayank Agarwal and Kishan Bedi, early on. Despite this, Bengal couldn't capitalize on the breakthrough. After four matches, Bengal has eight points.
Would an aggressive batting approach from the start of the second innings have changed the result? Perhaps the Bengal camp will reflect on this after the match.
