Hubli, Feb 27 (IANS) Karnataka made a strong start with the ball in the second innings, taking two early wickets as Jammu and Kashmir were reduced to 11/2 at Lunch on Day 4 of the Ranji Trophy final. Qamran Iqbal remained unbeaten on 6.

After taking a big 291-run lead, Jammu and Kashmir had a poor start in their second innings. Prasidh Krishna carried his form from the first innings and dismissed Yawer Hassan in the second over. First-innings centurion Shubham Pundir followed soon after. Vijaykumar Vyashak bowled a good-length delivery that took the edge, and KL Shrijith completed the catch in the slips. Shubham managed just 4 runs.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir began the day well by breaking the partnership between Mayank Agarwal and Kruthik Krishna, who were building pressure with regular singles. Kruthik was dismissed by Sahil Lotra in the 78th over. Sushil Kumar then removed Vidyadhar Patil in the 84th over, leaving Karnataka at 256/7.

Despite losing wickets at the other end, Mayank continued to play his shots and punished loose balls. He survived a few dropped catches but was finally dismissed in the 91st over when Auqib Nabi trapped him with a good-length delivery. Mayank scored 160 off 266 balls, hitting 21 fours. Auqib completed his five-wicket haul by dismissing Shikhar Shetty, while Yudhvir Singh picked up the last wicket of Prasidh Krishna as Karnataka were bowled out for 293.

Brief Scores: Jammu & Kashmir 584 all out & 11/2 (Shubham Pundir 121, Yawer Hassan 88, Sahil Lotra 72, Kanhaiya Wadhawan 70, Paras Dogra 70; Prasidh Krishna 5-98) lead Karnataka 293 all out in 93.3 overs (Mayank Agarwal 160, Kruthik Krishna 36; Auqib Nabi Dar 5-54, Sushil Kumar 2-51, Yudhwir Singh Charak 2-55) by 302 runs at Lunch on Day 4.

–IANS

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