Karnataka complete formality of draw to join J&K in Ranji Trophy final

Karnataka sealed their spot in the Ranji Trophy final after completing the formality of playing out the fifth and final day of their semifinal contest with Uttarakhand in Lucknow on Thursday.

Karnataka have reached the final after an 11-year break and will take on Jammu & Kashmir, who aim to win their maiden title. The final is scheduled to be played at Hubballi, starting February 24.

J&K had booked their berth in the title match with a day to spare after defeating Bengal by six wickets.

On the other hand, though their passage to the final was more or less sealed early on the third day after posting a massive first innings total of 736, Karnataka had to wait till the final day for the match to be declared a draw.

Uttarakhand's second innings was wrapped up for 233, and after Karnataka posted 323 in their second innings, the north Indians were left with an impossible target of 827 runs. Uttarakhand made 260/6, and Karnataka advanced by virtue of the first innings lead.

Karnataka have won eight Ranji Trophy titles, with the last coming in the 2024-15 season.

Brief scores: Karnataka 736 in 194.4 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 232, KL Rahul 141, Ravichandran Smaran 135, Adiya Rawat 4/154) & 323 in 74.3 overs (Smaran 127, Rahul 86 not out, Mayank Mishra 4/69) drew with Uttarakhand 233 in 88.5 overs (Lakshya Raichandani 55) & 260/6 in 62 overs (Shreyas Gopal 3/83)