Nagpur: Karnataka batsmen set up a fascinating final day with a determined effort after pacers Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar gave them a foothold against Vidarbha with splendid spells on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinals match here on Monday.
Vidarbha started the day on a strong note at 50 for no loss and ahead by 224 runs.
But the dismissal of opener Dhruv Shorey (57, 98b, 3×4) sparked a collapse as Kaverappa and Vijaykumar ripped through Vidarbha innings with an incisive effort.
The home side lost remaining eight wickets for adding a mere 103 runs in a little less than two sessions and that gave Karnataka a reasonable opening.
Of course, Karnataka still needed to 371 to win but Agarwal and Ravikumar Samarth went after the target in all earnestness adding 101 runs in 23.4 overs.
They scored at nearly five runs an over as Vidarbha bowlers began to wilt under the onslaught.
However, Samarth was castled by left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate minutes before stumps to give some relief to Vidarbha.