Desai triggers dramatic Karnataka collapse to lead Gujarat to narrow win
Desai, the left-arm spinner, picked up seven wickets as Karnataka went from 50 for 0 to 103 all out
ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2024
Siddharth Desai’s seven-wicket haul took Gujarat to victory•Siddharth Desai
Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai helped Gujarat snatch six points from Karnataka in a thrilling morning in Ahmedabad, where his seven-for scripted a stunning six-wicket win by defending 109 in the fourth innings. Karnataka were cruising at 50 for 0 in under 10 overs before Desai took six wickets in a row that turned the game around.Karnataka soon slipped to 62 for 4, 77 for 7 and were bowled out for 103.On a pitch where the ball turned and bounced viciously, Desai troubled Karnataka by going around the wicket – wide of crease at times – and added to the pressure with close-in fielders. Karnataka started the final innings strongly, with Mayank Agarwal, the only centurion of the match, and Devdutt Padikkal scoring quickly. Desai had opened the bowling alongside medium-pacer Chintan Gaja, but the task looked beyond them as Agarwal and Padikkal raced away. Agarwal scored 19 in 29 balls, with four fours, and Padikkal was in a hurry, hitting 31 from 29 balls with four fours and a six.But Desai broke through with Agarwal’s wicket in the tenth over, and then got rid of Padikkal and Nikin Jose in his next over. Suddenly, Karnataka were 56 for 3. Time wasn’t the issue, and with the likes of Manish Pandey, R Samarth – who had opened in the first innings – and Shubhang Hegde to come, it wasn’t a worrying situation yet.
Desai was on a roll, though. Pandey fell for a duck to become Desai’s fourth victim, and he added Sujay Sateri and Vijaykumar Vyshak to his tally by the 18th over of the innings, leaving Karnataka tottering at 74 for 6.Gujarat captain Gaja had removed himself from the attack after bowling just two overs, bringing Rinkesh Vaghela, the offspinner, who got into the act by sending back Samarth and Hegde, who had scored 27 in 37 balls. Desai then got rid of Rohit Kumar – the third duck in the innings – to complete his haul, before Vaghela got his third, Prasidh Krishna, in the 27th over to finish off the game.The day had started well for Karnataka, as had most of the match till they got to 50 for no loss in their second innings. Gujarat, overnight on 171 for 7 – after having conceded a 110-run first-innings lead – were bowled out in 12.2 overs of action, adding 48 runs along the way. Those were critical in the end analysis.The win lifted Gujarat to the top of the Elite Group C table, with two wins in two games giving them 12 points.