Chennai: Karnataka put up a strong fight against Tamil Nadu on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match on Sunday with half centuries by three of their order batsmen, but still have a huge mountain to climb on the last day of the match.
Karnataka starting the day at the score of 26-0 in reply to hosts 538-4 launched a valiant fight-back but they still require to 300 to take the first innings lead which looks quite improbable.
It will be interesting to see how Karnataka go about on the final day and even though Tamil Nadu starts as a clear favourite an all-out effort is expected from the visitors.
Robin Uthappa and K B Pawan, two overnight batsmen started the day for Karnataka and put up a solid 94 runs opening stand before Malolan Rangarajan dismissed Uthappa for 53. He played 134 deliveries and hit five fours and a six.
His wicket brought Ganesh Satish to the crease and played with utmost caution. As when it was looking good for Karnataka, Abhinav Mukund struck to remove Pawan for 69. He hit seven boundaries and a six in his 169-ball innings.
Satish however played on till the end of the day’s play and remained unbeaten on 65 from 184 balls including four boundaries. He was well supported by Amit Verma who stayed not out on 18 from 82 balls including three fours.
Rangarajan was the pick of the bowlers for Karnataka with his spell of 2-67.
By Indian Sports News Network