Ranji Trophy 2021-22: Manish Pandey takes over wicketkeeping duties after Srinivas Sharath's injury

In the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season, Karnataka face-off with Uttar Pradesh in the quarterfinal in Alur, Karnataka. On June 8 (Wednesday), Day 3 of the match, Karnataka skipper Manish Pandey took the keeping gloves after their assigned wicketkeeper Srinivas Sharath was out injured. 

Sharath, behind the stumps, bagged five catches in Uttar Pradesh’s five innings, and also scored an unbeaten 23 in a total of 114 in Karnataka’s second innings. Usually, Pandey is not seen with the gloves, having often played with regular keepers such as BR Sharath, KL Rahul, Robin Uthappa, etc in the past at the domestic circuit. 

Karnataka defend a slim target of 213 on Day 3.

As of now, Uttar Pradesh is currently chasing a target of 213 with their opening batters Aryan Juyal falling early for 1 run and Samarth Singh for 14, courtesy of bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak. Karnataka batted first in the match and were all out for 253 in the first innings after opener Ravikumar Samarth and all-rounder Shreyas Gopal scored the fifties. Uttar Pradesh bowler Saurabh Kumar starred with a bowling figure of four for 73 in 32 overs.

In Uttar Pradesh’s first innings, batters Priyam Garg and Rinku Singh top-scored with 39 runs and 33 runs respectively, and Shivam Mavi at the back-end scored valuable 32 runs. Uttar Pradesh amassed a total of 155, falling behind their opponents by 98 runs, going into the third innings of the match. Karnataka pacer Ronit More picked up three wickets for 47 runs in the Uttar Pradesh innings.

In Karnataka’s second innings, after keeper Sharath, opening batter Mayank Agarwal top-scored with 22 runs. Uttar Pradesh’s Saurabh yet again shined with the ball with figures of three wickets for 36 runs in 16 overs. Although the target might not be huge, it might be a competitive total nonetheless, as this match has been thoroughly dominated by bowlers so far. 

Coming into the knockout phase, Karnataka had two wins and a draw in three games with 16 points in Group C, which also comprised Railways, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, also had two wins and a draw but with 13 points, in Group G, which also consisted of Vidarbha, Maharashtra and Assam.