Abhimanyu Mithun (5/82) and Sreenath Arvind (3/43) rose to the occasion as Karnataka defeated Himachal Pradesh by 67 runs in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match in Dharmasala on Saturday.
With two set batsmen at the crease in Manvinder Bisla and captain Paras Dogra and just needing 133 more runs, Himchal came into the fourth and final day's play eyeing an upset win over Karntaka.
But it was not to be as the home team lost its last five batsmen adding just 65 runs to their overnight score of 153 to return empty handed from the match.
Chasing 286 runs for an outright win, Himachal were bowled out for 218 in their second innings in 61.3 overs.
Resuming at 153 for 5, Bisla (58) and Dogra could add just six runs to their 101-run overnight stand with Arvind finally breaking the dangerous-looking partnership.
Bisla added just four runs to his overnight score before he was lbw by Arvind. Dogra (55) and Rishi Dhawan (20) tried hard to force a comeback, adding 40-runs for the seventh wicket but just when it seemed Himachal could sneak out a win the duo fell within a span of 13 runs.
Dhawan was the first to depart, caught by KB Pawan of Arvind and then Dogra followed suit, caught by Amit Verma off Mithun but not before completing his half century.
From there on victory was just a formality for Karnataka and the visitors eventually bowled out Himachal for 218, 67 runs short of what could have been an amazing win for the hosts.
By virtue of this win, Karnataka pocketed five points from the match. Brief Scores: Karnataka: 254 and 230 (Manish Pandey 112; Mohinderraj Sharma 4/52, Rishi Dhawan 4/40).
Himachal Pradesh: 199 and 218 (Manvinder Bisla 58, Paras Dogra 55; Abhimanyu Mithun 5/82, Sreenath Arvind 3/43).
