Cheteshwar Pujara, in a controversial knock, of an unbeaten 131 led Saurashtra to a five-wicket victory over Karnataka in the semi-final of Ranji Trophy 2018-19 on Monday. 

Pujara and Sheldon Jackson's (100) heroics ensured their team made it to just their third-ever Ranji Trophy final after chasing down Karnataka's target of 279 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 

When Saurashtra resumed Day 5, they were in a comfortable position as they were just 55 runs away from a triumph and they had seven wickets still in hand.

Pujara, who architected the chase, continued to frustrate the opposition. Saurashtra lost Jackson but there was still calmness at the crease because they had Pujara at one end.

Jaydev Unadkat, who took seven wickets in the match, and left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who claimed five wickets in the second innings, also deserve some share of credit for helping Saurashtra win the semi-final. 

Despite winning Saurashtra the match, Pujara is criticised for not walking away despite nicking the ball on Day 4 during an over bowled by Vinay Kumar. 

On Day 4, Karnataka's Abhimanyu Mithun scalped Harvik Desai (9) to leave Saurashtra gasping at 23 for three. 

It could have been worse for the visitors since Pujara pushed one from Vinay to edge it to wicketkeeper Shrinivas Sharath but umpire turned down the appeal.

Vinay could not believe his luck and was left fuming and frustrated, considering that Pujara's is a prized scalp.

The TV replays clearly showed that Pujara had edged it but it was not Karnataka's day as the match slipped out of their hands after that.

The home bowlers left to toil whole day as they only saw Pujara and Jackson build the fourth innings.

Benefitting from the umpires' howlers, when Pujara walked off the field still unbeaten, he was on the recieving end of major boos from the home team's fans.