The stuttering Karnataka batters squandered the advantage given by their bowlers, slipping to 90 for six at close of play on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Railways in Surat on Friday. (More Cricket News)
However, the Karnataka bowlers had a good day in the park, bundling out Railways for 155.
Pacer Vasuki Koushik (3/22) and 17-year-old left-arm spinner Hardik Raj (3/28) derailed Railways.
During their reply, the Karnataka batters’ focus was taken away a bit by the absence of their prolific captain Mayank Agarwal after he was ruled out of this match.
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Agarwal could not travel to Surat as he felt burning sensation in his mouth and throat after accidentally consuming a spurious liquid from a pouch during his flight out of Agartala a couple of days back.
He is recovering in Bengaluru.
Without Agarwal’s solid presence, Karnataka top-order caved in against left-arm spinner Akash Pandey, who took three for 21.
Earlier, skipper Pratham Singh made a solid 56 off 131 balls but he could not keep the consistent Karnataka bowlers at bay for long.
Brief Scores
At Surat: Railways 155 all out in 56 overs (Pratham Singh 56, Mohammad Saif 45; Vasuki Koushik 3/22, Hardik Raj 3/28) vs Karnataka 90/6 in 27.5 overs (KV Aneesh 27; Akash Pandey 3/21).
At Porvorim: Goa 241 all out in 75.5 overs (Suyash Prabhudesai 104, KV Siddharth 69; R Sai Kishore 4/73, S Ajith Ram 3/46) vs Tamil Nadu 20 for no loss in 7 overs.
At Ahmedabad: Tripura 146 all out in 47.4 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 59 not out, Sankar Paul 29; Arzan Nagaswalla 4/47, SA Desai 4/43) vs Gujarat 127/4 in 39.2 overs (Sunpreet Bagga 42; Parvez Sultan 2/36).
At Mohali: Punjab 307/2 in 75 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 132 batting, Prabhsimran Singh 76 batting, Naman Dhir 86) vs Chandigarh.
