By Admin 
Maharashtra’s 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 their Ranji Trophy Group B clash at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s International Stadium here 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, 162 balls, 9×4) guided Karnataka past the 300-run mark after a shaky start. Later, his crafty leg-spin fetched him four wickets and 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.
Karnataka’s Shreyas Gopal plays a shot on the second day of the Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
Choudhary’s three-wicket burst 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.
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 another.
Maharashtra’s Prithvi Shaw plays a shot on the second day of Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
Six overs later, captain Ankeet Bawane was undone by a wrong one 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 day three.
The scores: Karnataka — 1st innings: K.V. Aneesh lbw b Saxena 34, Mayank Agarwal st Nawale b Saxena 80, K.L. Shrijith b Saxena 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 lbw b Choudhary 0, Abhilash Shetty lbw b Saxena 0, Vidwath Kaverappa (not out) 0; Extras (lb-13): 13; Total (in 111 overs): 313.
Karnataka’s Shreyas Gopal plays a shot on the second day of the Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
EMMANUAL YOGINI
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 a Aneesh b Shreyas 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.