Karnataka’s Ravichandran Smaran continued his stellar Ranji season with an unbeaten 83 to beat Mumbai in the quarterfinal at BKC. The 22-year-old praised batting alongside KL Rahul, whose guidance proved crucial. Smaran said the win boosts confidence ahead of the semifinal against Uttarakhand.

Mumbai: Ravichandran Smaran has been the consistent performer for Karnataka this season, scoring 688 runs in seven matches at an average of 86. The 22-year-old left-hander showed he has big-match temperament by playing a match-winning innings of unbeaten 83 against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at MCA's BKC ground on Monday.

"It is a great feeling to beat Mumbai at home in a quarterfinal makes it more worthy. We are looking forward to the semifinal (against Uttarakhand). They are also playing good cricket, and we are also playing well. A win in Mumbai gives us a lot of confidence ahead of the semifinal," he said

Smaran said it was a privilege to bat with India Test batter KL Rahul and be part of the match-winning partnership. The right and left-handed duo shared 147 runs for the fourth wicket before a minor stutter, but Smaran saw his team through with an undefeated 40-run stand with Vidhyadhar Patil for the seventh wicket.

"It was a privilege for all of us, he (Rahul) coming in and playing with us in the Ranji Trophy. He has played a lot of Tests for India and has the experience. He guided me in the middle and kept telling me what shots to play and how to pace my game and keep runs flowing. It was great batting with him and looking forward to many more innings with him," he said.

Smaran came in after Karun Nair's dismissal and scored runs at will, finding boundaries at regular intervals to ease pressure on Rahul. "He was also free-flowing from the first innings, and continued getting boundaries in the second innings. I also got boundaries that put pressure on them and made our job easier. I am glad for such a long partnership in the fourth innings with Rahul," he said.

The Karnataka batter admitted KL Rahul's dropped chance off Shardul Thakur in the morning proved costly for Mumbai. "I think so, he is a great player and dropping him will be a very costly thing do. I think we were always looking to play positive cricket, but yes, it could have been the turning point," he said.