Mysuru: Hosts Karnataka helped by some inspiring performance by their bowlers spearheaded by spinner K. Gowtham (three for 39), medium-pacer Abhimanyu Mithun (two for 29) reduced Assam to 169 for six in 63 overs and are on verge of an outright win on the penultimate day of their Ranji tie of the season played at the SDNR Wadiyar Stadium here yesterday.

Bad-light stopped play 36-minutes before the scheduled close of play on the third day and Assam were struggling at 169 for six in 63 overs, with their skipper Gokul Sharma (62 n.o, 6x4s) waging a lone battle. Abu Nechim Ahmed (8 n.o.)      was at the crease at stumps     and Assam were behind by 155-runs and need a heroic task from their remaining batsman to save the game.

Karnataka resuming at their overnight score of 427 for six in 115 overs ended up scoring 469 for seven decl. K. Gowtham top scored with 149 (10×4, 6×6). Shreyas Gopal (50 n.o, 3x4s) and skipper R. Vinay Kumar (27 n.o., 1×4, 1×6) were the other contributors. K. Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal added 111-runs for the seventh wicket, while Shreyas Gopal and R. Vinay Kumar added 40-runs for the eighth wicket.

Medium-pacer Arup Das took four for 113 and was well supported by P. Sarupam who took three for 80. In their second essay, Assam started badly losing opener Pallav Kumar Das (5) early, when medium. Pacer A. Mithun struck having him caught behind at the total of 13. He also removed one-drop batsman Pritam Debnath (2) quickly and Assam were in trouble at 19 for two. Opener Rishav Das (21) was bowled by skipper R. Vinay Kumar and Assam were struggling at 50 for three.

Skipper Gokul Sharma and Sibsankar Roy (44,8×4) added 56-runs for the fourth wicket before Gowtham had the last laugh by removing Sibsankar Roy. Tarjinder Singh (6) and P. Sarupam (14) succumbed to the guile’s of off-spinner Gowtham and Assam were reduced to  152 for six at one stage.

Bad light stopped play 36-minutes earlier than the scheduled closing time, and Assam skipper Gokul Sharma (62 n.o.) impressed with his compact style of batting and is waging a lone battle for his team.

Karnataka will aim to wrap up the tail of Assam batting as early as possible on the fourth day and begin their campaign in this edition of the Ranji Trophy with a out-right win.

The Scores: Assam 145 & 169 for six in 63 overs (Gokul Sharma 62 n.o, Sibsankar Roy 44, Rishav Das 21, K. Gowtham three for 39, A. Mithun two for 29) Vs Karnataka 469 for seven decl. in 126.4 overs (K. Gowtham 149, R. Samarth 123, Shreyas Gopal 50 n.o, Mayank Agarwal 31, Kaunain Abbas 30, R. Vinay Kumar 27 n.o, Arup Das four for 113, P. Sarupam three for 80).