Ranji Roundup: Karnataka seal semis spot

Gowtham's seven-wicket haul helps Karnataka 

Off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham snapped seven wickets as Karnataka sealed their place in the semifinals after thrashing Jammu and Kashmir by 167 runs on the final day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, in Jammu, on Monday.

Resuming the day at 245 for four, Karnataka added another 71 runs before folding for 316 in their second innings, setting the hosts a target of 331.

Jammu and Kashmir were bundled out for 163, courtesy off-spinner Gowtham's (7/54) seven-wicket haul.

Earlier, Abid Mushtaq (6/83) claimed six wickets, Parvez Rasool (3/88) took three and Mujtaba Yousuf (1/44) dismissed one Karnataka batsman.

Overnight batsman Krishnamurthy Siddharth (98) missed out on a well-deserved century, dismissed by Mushtaq in the 80th over.

His wicket triggered a collapse as Karnataka kept losing wickets regularly. Srinivas Sharath (34) held on to one end and took the team across the 300-mark before departing in the 105th over.

Chasing 331 to win, opener Shubham Khajuria (30), middle-order batsman Shubham Pundir (31) and tail-enders Aquib Nabi (26) and Umar Nazir (24) tried their bit but none of them could stay longer to raise any hope of a successful chase.

Brief Score: Karnataka 1st innings: 206 all out in 69.1 overs J&K 1st innings: 192 all out in 62.4 overs (SP Khajuria 62, Abdul Samad 43; M Prasidh Krishna 4/42) Karnataka 1st innings: 316 allout in 106.5 overs (KV Siddharth 98; Abid Mushtaq 6/83). J&K 1st innings: 163 allout in 44.4 overs (SS Pundir 31; K Gowtham 7/54). 

Saurashtra in semifinal after draw vs Andhra

Saurashtra booked their spot in the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy on the basis of the first innings after their quarterfinal tie against Andhra ended in a draw on the final day in Ongole, AP.

Resuming at the overnight score of 375 for 9, the visitors were dismissed for 426 in 138 overs in the second innings, setting an improbable target of 710 runs for Andhra.

After being bowled out for 136 in the first innings, Andhra finished at 149 for 4 in 51 overs in their second essay before play was called off.

A strokeful half-century by Andhra captain K S Bharat (55, 69 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) was the bright spot in the host team's second innings.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, who is on the fringes of national selection and has been part of various India 'A' teams in the recent past, showed why he is rated highly, playing some delightful shots during his knock.

Earlier when Saurashtra resumed, No.10 Chetan Sakariya (29 not out, 99 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) and skipper Jaydev Unadkat (31, 48 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) used the long handle to good effect and added 51 runs.

Chirag Jani, who scored a century in Saurashtra's first innings, was named man of the match.

Brief Scores: Saurashtra 419 all out in 146.5 overs (Chirag Jani 121, Perak Mankad 80, Vishvarajsingh Jadeja 73, Sheldon Jackson 50; Prithvi Raj Yarra 3/51, K V Sasikanth 3/149) and 426 all out in 138 overs (Perak Mankad 85, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 60, Avi Barot 54; Jyothi Sai Krishna 4/74, Mohd Rafi 3/92) drew with Andhra 136 all out in 78.2 overs (C R Gnaneshwar 43, Ricky Bhui 28, K S Bharat 26; Jaydev Unadkat 4/42, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3/27) and 149 for 4 in 51 overs (K S Bharat 55 not out, CR Gnaneshwar 29, Karan Shinde 27 not out).