Vinay Kumar & Co. fail to make knockout stage for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

ikit Dhumal was struck on the back of his head while attempting to duck under a R. Vinay Kumar bouncer. The Maharashtra pace bowler not only recovered from it, but dealt a severe blow with his accurate spell of bowling on the final day of Maharashtra’s Ranji Trophy campaign to knock defending champion Karnataka out of the tournament.
Thanks to Dhumal’s maiden fifer (5/78) in first-class cricket, Maharashtra stunned Karnataka by 53 runs and ended a mediocre season with a consolation win. Karnataka, on the other hand, crashed out of the competition without making it to the knockouts for the first time since 2005-06.
After conceding the first innings lead, Karnataka knew it had to chase down the target of 293 on the last day. It required 232 more runs with nine wickets in hand. Despite the wicket easing out a wee bit, with the overnight moisture set to play a role at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium’s greenish top, it was a no-brainer that the side that gains an upper hand in the first 90 minutes will eventually wear a smiling face.
The Maharashtra pace triumvirate virtually sealed the fate of the match in the 150-minute opening session by picking four vital wickets. Anupam Sanklecha started the rot by forcing a nick off Mayank Agarwal’s willow in the third over of the day. In the next over, Manish Pandey gifted his wicket, poking a short of a length ball by Shrikant Mundhe to Rahul Tripathi in the slips.
The strategy of sticking to short of good length continued to pay rich dividends even after Dhumal replaced Sanklecha from the pavilion end. He first broke the 40-run association between Robin Uthappa and Shreyas Gopal with one that moved slightly away, and the all-rounder edged it to captain Kedar Jadhav in the slip cordon.
In his next over, the short ball worked again for Dhumal as Karun Nair’s half-attempted pull resulted in a dolly back to the bowler.
At 126 for five, the target of 293 had turned gargantuan for Karnataka. And it became a distant dream soon after lunch when Robin Uthappa’s trademark flick on the move resulted in him missing the ball and being rapped on the pads.
Then came the highest partnership of the innings — C.M. Gautam played a solid knock, while Vinay not only survived but tried to keep the scoreboard flowing as well.
However, Dhumal came back just before tea and bowled one that rose sharply and moved away off the seam to leave Vinay with no option but to nick it to Vishant More behind the stumps.
The wicketkeeper was in ction again as Abhimanyu Mithun’s wild swing resulted in an edge that completed Dhumal’s fifer.
With two wickets remaining and 96 more required, Gautam got the company of S. Arvind, but Maharashtra’s perseverance paid off as Sanklecha first drew an edge off the left-hander’s blade and then struck timber four balls later to leave Gautam stranded and complete a memorable win for the home side.