Ranji Trophy: Shreyas Gopal's five-for powers Karnataka to innings-and-116-run win over Tripura
toi
newspoint|29-10-2026
MYSURU: Two hours and 42 minutes. That was all Karnataka needed on the final day to wrap up their maiden Ranji Trophy win of the season. At the SDNRW Ground here on Thursday, stand-in skipper Shreyas Gopal led from the front with a five-wicket haul (5/36) as Karnataka crushed Tripura by an innings and 116 runs. With just two points from their first two matches, the seven-point haul will provide a much-needed boost to Karnataka’s campaign.
For the first half-hour in the morning, Sridam Paul (50) and Parvez Sultan (14) looked comfortable at the crease. Sridam even went for a couple of big shots en route to his half-century.
Medium pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar (2/31), who struggled with his lines in the first innings, returned with a more disciplined effort, sticking to the channel to dismantle Tripura’s resistance. Sultan miscued a flick off a slower delivery from Vyshak, with Rohan Patil taking the catch at short leg. Sridam did not last much longer, edging one to wicketkeeper KL Shrijith.
On a surface expected to assist spinners, prompting Karnataka to field three of them, it was the pacers who set the tone for the victory. Vyshak drew Tripura skipper M Murasingh into edging a regulation catch to Shrijith, before the wicketkeeper pulled off a one-handed stunner to send Sentu Sarkar back.
With the writing on the wall, leg-spinner Shreyas returned after lunch to mop up the tail and seal the win.
While the victory was far from convincing, by Karnataka’s standards, head coach R Vinay Kumar, visibly relieved to register his first win in charge, felt the team had plenty of room for improvement.
“We could have definitely done much better as a team. Given the standards we have set as a Karnataka team, much better performances are expected from the players,” admitted the former state skipper.
Against a modest attack on a placid surface, Karnataka’s batters had been guilty of being too defensive and, at times, overly cautious.
“They could have definitely played a bit more freely. When I spoke to the batters, they said the wicket wasn’t easy to bat on and the ball was keeping low. Against smaller teams like Tripura, they just keep bowling to the basics, and that is perhaps why the batters felt it wasn’t easy to score. They also had a spread field, but we definitely can’t make those kinds of excuses,” Vinay said, adding that the innings deficits conceded in their first two matches might have weighed on the batters’ minds.
Rookies Aneeshwar Gautam, Manvanth Kumar and Ritesh Bhatkal, along with the consistent KL Shrijith, earned praise from the coach.
“Overall, I am really happy with the way the youngsters are performing for the team. If we can bring back the kind of culture we had before, I think there won’t be any stopping Karnataka,” Vinay added.
Karnataka next travel to take on Assam in an away fixture beginning on Nov 2. The match will be their final red-ball assignment in the first phase of the season before the break for white-ball tournaments.
SCOREBOARD
Tripura (I innings): 194.
Karnataka (I innings): 490/9 decl.
Tripura (II innings o/n 98/3): Sridam Paul c Shrijith b Vyshak 50, Parvez Sultan C Rohan b Vyshak 14, Mandeep Singh (not out) 20, M Murasingh c Shrijith b Manvanth 8, Senthu Sarkar C Shrijith b Manvanth 15, Bikram Debnath c Shrijith b Shreyas 3, Sandip Sarkar (run out) 0, Abhijith Sarkar b Shreyas 0. Extras: (LB-1; LB:2) 3. Total (all out ) 98.
Fall of wickets: 4-128, 5-133, 6-145, 7-163, 8-178, 9-179.
Bowling: Manvanth Kumar 10-1-42-2, Vyshak Vijaykumar 15-6-1-2, Shreyas Gopal 23.1-6-36-5, Ritesh Bhatkal 8-1-16-0, Shikhar Shetty 22-5-52-0.
For the first half-hour in the morning, Sridam Paul (50) and Parvez Sultan (14) looked comfortable at the crease. Sridam even went for a couple of big shots en route to his half-century.
Medium pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar (2/31), who struggled with his lines in the first innings, returned with a more disciplined effort, sticking to the channel to dismantle Tripura’s resistance. Sultan miscued a flick off a slower delivery from Vyshak, with Rohan Patil taking the catch at short leg. Sridam did not last much longer, edging one to wicketkeeper KL Shrijith.
On a surface expected to assist spinners, prompting Karnataka to field three of them, it was the pacers who set the tone for the victory. Vyshak drew Tripura skipper M Murasingh into edging a regulation catch to Shrijith, before the wicketkeeper pulled off a one-handed stunner to send Sentu Sarkar back.
With the writing on the wall, leg-spinner Shreyas returned after lunch to mop up the tail and seal the win.
While the victory was far from convincing, by Karnataka’s standards, head coach R Vinay Kumar, visibly relieved to register his first win in charge, felt the team had plenty of room for improvement.
“We could have definitely done much better as a team. Given the standards we have set as a Karnataka team, much better performances are expected from the players,” admitted the former state skipper.
Against a modest attack on a placid surface, Karnataka’s batters had been guilty of being too defensive and, at times, overly cautious.
“They could have definitely played a bit more freely. When I spoke to the batters, they said the wicket wasn’t easy to bat on and the ball was keeping low. Against smaller teams like Tripura, they just keep bowling to the basics, and that is perhaps why the batters felt it wasn’t easy to score. They also had a spread field, but we definitely can’t make those kinds of excuses,” Vinay said, adding that the innings deficits conceded in their first two matches might have weighed on the batters’ minds.
Rookies Aneeshwar Gautam, Manvanth Kumar and Ritesh Bhatkal, along with the consistent KL Shrijith, earned praise from the coach.
“Overall, I am really happy with the way the youngsters are performing for the team. If we can bring back the kind of culture we had before, I think there won’t be any stopping Karnataka,” Vinay added.
Karnataka next travel to take on Assam in an away fixture beginning on Nov 2. The match will be their final red-ball assignment in the first phase of the season before the break for white-ball tournaments.
SCOREBOARD
Tripura (I innings): 194.
Karnataka (I innings): 490/9 decl.
Tripura (II innings o/n 98/3): Sridam Paul c Shrijith b Vyshak 50, Parvez Sultan C Rohan b Vyshak 14, Mandeep Singh (not out) 20, M Murasingh c Shrijith b Manvanth 8, Senthu Sarkar C Shrijith b Manvanth 15, Bikram Debnath c Shrijith b Shreyas 3, Sandip Sarkar (run out) 0, Abhijith Sarkar b Shreyas 0. Extras: (LB-1; LB:2) 3. Total (all out ) 98.
Fall of wickets: 4-128, 5-133, 6-145, 7-163, 8-178, 9-179.
Bowling: Manvanth Kumar 10-1-42-2, Vyshak Vijaykumar 15-6-1-2, Shreyas Gopal 23.1-6-36-5, Ritesh Bhatkal 8-1-16-0, Shikhar Shetty 22-5-52-0.
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