Ace Indian batter KL Rahul starred with a sublime century as his side, Karnataka, defeated Mumbai in the 4th quarterfinal of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 tournament. This match was played at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai, from February 6 to 9.

Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur had won the toss and chose to bat first. However, the decision backfired as Mumbai was shot out for 120 runs, with Akhil Herwadkar top-scoring with 60 runs. Vidwath Kaverappa, Prasidh Krishna, and Shreyas Gopal took three wickets each.

Karnataka, in reply, managed only 173 runs in the first innings as Mayank Agarwal made 92 runs while Mohit Avasthi and Tushar Deshpande took four wickets each for Mumbai.

Mumbai did a lot better in the second innings as they posted 377 runs, with Akash Anand (70), Musheer Khan (49), Tanush Kotian (48*), and Tushar Deshpande (47) being the notable scorers. For Karnataka, Shikhar Shetty took three wickets, while Vidyadhar Patil and Vidwath Kaverappa took two wickets each.

Karnataka had a target of 325 runs to chase, and the veteran KL Rahul took it upon himself to lead the way. After Mayank Agarwal got out for 3 runs, Rahul formed an 84-run partnership with captain Devdutt Padikkal (39). Despite his dismissal, Rahul continued on, as he found an able partner in Ravichandran Smaran.  

Rahul added 147 runs with Smaran to take Karnataka near the target and also completed his 24th century in first-class cricket. Rahul hit 14 fours and one six before he was dismissed by Tushar Deshpande for 130 runs in 182 balls.  

Smaran continued and made 83*, as he and Vidyadhar Patil (31*) led Karnataka to a four-wicket win, scoring 325/6 in 73.4 overs. Karnataka will now face Uttarakhand in the first semi-final of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 from February 15.