Karnataka Ranji champs again after 14 years

Karnataka regained the Ranji Trophy after a 14-year gap when they defeated Maharashtra by seven wickets on the fifth and final day of the title clash here on Sunday. Set a target of 157 to win, Karnataka came up with a clinically efficient batting performance to seal the title for the first time after the 1998-99 season. It was their seventh title in the history of the National championships. "We all worked very hard for this, and it's an amazing moment,”said Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar. "We've been doing well for many years but missed out narrowly in 2009-10 and then made the quarter-finals but couldn't go further. So we wanted to win it this time and it's a superb team effort,” he added. In Karnataka’s second innings, Robin Uthappa (36) and K L Rahul (29) laid a solid foundation for the chase, putting on 65 runs for the opening wicket. Amit Verma then chipped in with a 38 before Manish Pandey (28 not out) and Karun Nair (20 not out) applied the finishing touches, taking the team to 157 for three. Earlier, Maharashtra, 272 for six overnight, were bowled out for 366 shortly before lunch in the second innings. Vinay Kumar, who had taken his 300th firstclass wicket on Saturday, finished with four for 116 while leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal claimed four for 47.   Deccan Herald