Karnataka 736 (Padikkal 232, Rahul 141, Smaran 135, Rawat 4-154) and 323 (Smaran 127, Rahul 86*, Mishra 4-69) drew with Uttarakhand 233 (Raichandani 55, Patil 3-40, Vyshak 3-45) and 260 for 6 (Sudha 66, Negi 57*, Gopal 3-83)

Karnataka couldn't bowl out Uttarakhand on the fifth day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final, but their first-innings lead was enough to send them to the final for the 15th time, and for the first time since 2014-15.

Chasing a mammoth 827 in Lucknow, Uttarakhand were 260 for 6 after 62 overs when the players shook hands. Shreyas Gopal and Prasidh Krishna shared five wickets between them, but a 104-run unbeaten partnership between Abhay Negi and Saurabh Rawat helped Uttarakhand avoid an outright defeat after they were 156 for 6.

Karnataka began the day on 299 for 6 and left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra had Vijaykumar Vyshak nicking behind first ball of the day. KL Rahul, who began the day on 70, added 16 runs, but ran out of partners. Mishra castled Shikhar Shetty and Prasidh was run out, while Karnataka captain Devdutt Padikkal, who hurt his hand while taking a catch on the fourth day, did not come out to bat. Rahul finished unbeaten on 86, to go with his 141 in the first innings. Mishra, meanwhile, finished with a four-wicket haul

As Uttarakhand began their chase, Vyshak had Prashant Chopra caught behind in the second over for a duck. No. 3 Avneesh Sudha hit a boundary-laden 66 off 71 balls, even as Prasidh had Bhupen Lalwani and Lakshya Raichandani nicking behind. Sudha eventually fell to Gopal to leave Uttarakhand in trouble at 107 for 4.

Uttarakhand were in more trouble when they lost J Suchith and their captain Kunal Chandela for the addition of another 49 runs, and an outright win was within Karnataka's sights, with more than a session to go.

But Rawat and Negi, who hit half-centuries of differing natures, kept the bowlers at bay with a partnership that lasted 135 deliveries. Rawat brought up his half-century in 100 balls, while Negi took a more aggressive route, getting to his fifty off 58 deliveries with three sixes and five fours.

Fourteen overs into the final session, the teams decided to shake hands and settle on the draw, as Karnataka confirmed a clash against first-time finalists Jammu & Kashmir in Hubli from February 24 in their bid for a ninth Ranji Trophy title.