Ranji Trophy 2025-26: Shreyas’ all-round brilliance keeps Maharashtra vs Karnataka poised after Day 2
Left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary struck early and with venom, but Shreyas Gopal’s all-round brilliance brought Karnataka back into the contest on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Group B clash against Maharashtra at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s International Stadium in Pune on Sunday.
At Stumps, Maharashtra reached 200 for six in reply to Karnataka’s 313, leaving the visitor with a slender advantage at the halfway stage.
Shreyas’ composed knock (71, 162b, 9×4) had earlier guided Karnataka past the 300-run mark after a shaky start. Then, with the ball, his crafty leg-spin (4/46) turned the game once again in Karnataka’s favour.
Choudhary, though, was the early hero for Maharashtra. Swinging the ball both ways, he returned a devastating morning spell of 9-2-22-3. His fiery burst dismantled the lower order after Abhinav Manohar, dropped twice off his bowling, finally succumbed to a delivery that sent his off-stump cartwheeling. Choudhary’s three-wicket blitz in four balls — spread over two overs — left Karnataka reeling, before Shreyas farmed the strike to add 35 crucial runs for the last two wickets.
Maharashtra’s Saurabh Nawale steadied his side’s innings after it had slipped to 114 for four.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
Maharashtra’s Saurabh Nawale steadied his side’s innings after it had slipped to 114 for four.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
When birthday boy Prithvi Shaw (71, 92b, 9×4) and Arshin Kulkarni (34, 48b, 5×4) counterattacked in style, Maharashtra appeared set to take charge in front of a lively Sunday crowd. The opening pair added 98 brisk runs, scoring freely against Karnataka’s pace trio.
But Shreyas spun his web after Lunch. He lured Kulkarni out of his crease, allowing K.L. Shrijith to complete a sharp stumping. Next over, Siddhesh Veer danced down the track and missed a wild swing, gifting Shreyas his second scalp. Six overs later, captain Ankeet Bawane was undone by a wrong’un that crashed into the stumps. When off-spinner Mohsin Khan dismissed Shaw soon after, Maharashtra had slipped to 114 for four.
Saurabh Nawale then steadied the innings with Sachin Dhas, and later Jalaj Saxena, but Shreyas struck again before Stumps — K.V. Aneesh snapping up a sharp catch at silly point to hand him his fourth wicket.
With both teams trading blows, the contest remains delicately poised heading into the third day.
The scores:
Karnataka – 1st innings: K.V. Aneesh lbw b Jalaj 34, Mayank Agarwal st Nawale b Jalaj 80, K.L. Shrijith b Jalaj 10, Karun Nair b Ghosh 4, R. Smaran c Bawane b Ostwal 54, Abhinav Manohar b Choudhary 47, Shreyas Gopal c Dhas b Ostwal 71, Venkatesh M. c Nawale b Choudhary 0, Mohsin Khan b Choudhary 0, Abhilash Shetty lbw b Saxena 0, Vidwath Kaverappa (not out) 0; Extras (lb-13): 13; Total (in 111 overs): 313
Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-82, 3-89, 4-188, 5-194, 6-276, 7-276, 8-280, 9-291.
Maharashtra bowling: Gurbani 14-2-38-0, Choudhary 17-3-66-3, Ostwal 26-8-53-2, Saxena 35-3-94-4, Ghosh 19-4-49-1.
Maharashtra – 1st innings: Prithvi Shaw c Aneesh b Mohsin 71, Arshin Kulkarni st Shrijith b Shreyas 34, Siddhesh Veer st Shrijith b Shreyas 0, Ankeet Bawane b Shreyas 6, Sachin Dhas lbw b Mohsin 21, Saurabh Nawale 26, Jalaj Saxena (batting) 34, Vicky Ostwal (batting) 4; Extras (b-2, lb-1, nb-1): 4; Total (for six wickets in 66 overs): 200.
Fall of wickets: 1-98, 2-100, 3-112, 4-114, 5-139, 6-183.
Karnataka bowling: Kaverappa 9-0-47-0, Abhilash 4-0-20-0, Shreyas 23-3-46-4, Venkatesh 6-1-28-0, Mohsin 24-3-56-2.
Published on Nov 09, 2025
