Karnataka virtually assured themselves a place in the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament after setting a near impossible 683 runs target in front of Assam in their second innings on the fourth and penultimate day of the quarterfinal tie, in Indore on Thursday. Resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 137 for two, Karanataka rode on opener Ravikumar Samarth's (178) second first-class century, Robin Uthappa's 77 off 172 balls and Karun Nair's 49 to post 415 for five in 115 overs before declaring their second innings, thereby setting an improbable target of 683 runs in front of Assam for an outright win. Assam were 32 for no loss in eight overs at stumps and still need a mammoth 651 runs to win on the final day of the match tomorrow. Pallavkumar Das was batting on 25 in the company of skipper Dheeraj Jadhav on 7. Karnataka had already taken an upperhand in the match by notching up a lead of 267 runs in the first innings. Asked to bat, Karnataka scored 452 all out in their first innings before bundling out Assam for a paltry 185. Brief Scores: Karnataka 452 and 415 for five decl in 115 overs (Ravikumar Samarth 178, Robin Uthappa 77; Arup Das 2/63). Assam: 185 and 32 for no loss in eight overs.
