Ranji Trophy Semifinal Live Score, Karnataka vs Saurashtra Live Cricket Score Streaming Online: It is being labelled as Mayank Agarwal vs Cheteshwar Pujara but the Karnataka vs Saurashtra fixture, in the Ranji Trophy semifinal, is much more than that. As Karnataka ready to try and become the third team to make the final for the 15th time, they will surely be bolstered by the return of Mayank who had sat out the quarterfinal win against Rajasthan due to a thumb injury. Record speak, Karnataka haven’t been able to beat Saurashtra since the 2009-10 season. The head-to-head record favours Saurashtra, who in nine matches, have registered four victories and three draws.
Saurashtra, on the other hand, come into it thanks to a record 372 run chase against Uttar Pradesh with Pujara at the heart of it. However, a lot of credit will go to skipper Jaydev Unadkat who has picked 13 wickets in the last two matches.
Karnataka regain control
Manish Pandey and Shreyas Gopal have somewhat created a balance to the Karnataka inning. Playing attacking shots and carefully approach in equal measure. Up to 80/4 from 24 overs
Ranji Trophy Live
Bowler's paradise in Wayanad, Kerala with a returning Umesh Yadav reaping benefits of a green track. He's got four wickets in his first spell and Kerala are 43/5 with skipper Sachin Baby persevering.
WICKET!
Karun Nair becomes the fourth wicket to fall with Chetan Sakariya striking this time. Nair goes back for 9 runs from 22 balls. Nothing extravagant in the delivery. Nair pokes at it away from the body, it kisses the outside edge and Snell Patel behind the stumps makes no mistake. Karnataka are 30/4
SIX!
Manish Pandey looks to take the attack on Saurashtra. Lifts a delivery from Prerak Mankad down the ground for a six. Clear strike and lovely shot.
WICKET!
THREE DOWN! Karnataka continue to implode and Jaydev Unadkat continues to be at the heart of it. Mayank Agarwal falls for 2 runs from 30 balls. It pitched on a good length and nipped away off the deck, Agarwal gets a delicate edge on the push and it settles into the gloves of Snell Patel. Karnataka are 19/3
WICKET!
Krishnamurthy Siddharth is the next to go! He falls for 12 runs from 21 balls to Jaydev Unadkat. Second wicket for Unadkat. A very full delivery and it comes back in, Siddharth was pinned to the crease and it hits him on the pads. Angle made it seem it could miss leg but umpire seems convinced. Karnataka are 14/2
Match reading
In case you missed our pre-match reading, here it is on Karnataka vs Saurashtra from Sriram Veera. The other semifinal has Kerala looking to cause another upset when they take on Vidarbha. Our reporter Vishal Menon with the preview and more on the Kerala opening players
WICKET!
What a start for Saurashtra! Ravikumar Samarth is dismissed for a duck on the third ball of the match. Jaydev Unadkat is pumped! Full length delivery by the skipper around off, it jags back in with a lot of venom, the late lateral movement forces Samarth to play down the wrong line. It misses his inside edge and raps him on the pads. Appeal for lbw and the finger goes up. Karnataka 0/1
Captains speak
Karnataka captain Manish Pandey: " We will look to bat first. In the last match, ball started to keep low so we have decided to bat first. We have made one changes to our team. Mayank comes in so we have to play him. Nischal who has had a good season will have to sit out. This is a good opportunity for Karun to score runs."
Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat: "I am happy to bowl first on this pitch. We have momentum on our side but they are a very good side and it should be a good match. The chase in the last match will take us a long way. We can be proud of the way we fought back in the last match."
Pitch Report
"It looks like a green pitch. It looks hard too. There are no cracks left on the pitch. This pitch will surely help the seamers in the first session. Skipper should bowl first on this pitch."
Teams
Saurashtra Playing XI: Harvik Desai, Snell Patel(w), Vishvaraj Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sheldon Jackson, Aarpit Vasavada, Prerak Mankad, Kamlesh Makvana, Jaydev Unadkat(c), Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya
Karnataka Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Ravikumar Samarth, Krishnamurthy Siddharth, Karun Nair, Manish Pandey(c), Srinivas Sharath(w), Shreyas Gopal, Krishnappa Gowtham, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ronit More
TOSS
Karnataka have won the toss and decided to bat.
Ranji Trophy semi-finals
Hello and Good Morning! From 37 teams that started out at the start of the competition, it is now down to four - Kerala, Vidarbha, Karnataka and Saurashtra. Our focus for the next few days will be on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium where Karnataka take on Saurashtra to become the third team to make it to the domestic tournament's final for a 15th time. Saurashtra, however, have in them a stalwart in Cheteshwar Pujara who is oozing confidence and it is rubbing off on his teammates too - as it showed in their heroic chase against UP.