Bengaluru: Andhra debutant S V Rahul notched up a maiden first-class hundred while wicketkeeper-batsman Revanth Reddy narrowly fell short of his first three-figure mark in first-class cricket as the duo’s resistance frustrated an inexperienced Karnataka bowling attack.
The hosts, in the process, grabbed a crucial 57-run first-innings lead after posting 331/6 in 95 overs at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B opener in Mulapadu near Vijayawada on Monday.
Rahul (108 not out, 187b, 4×10) and Venkat Sasikanth (6 not out, 27b, 1×4) were keeping vigil in the middle.
At the Dr Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground, Andhra, overnight 16/2, were reduced to 53/3 in 14.4 overs on the second morning and then 116/5 in 38.5 overs but Karnataka, who scored 274 all out in their first innings, could not capitalise on the advantage.
Ranji Trophy | Smaran holds Karnataka together
The highlight of the day for Andhra was the fighting 202-run partnership between Rahul and Revanth that lasted 51 overs. When Revanth was finally dismissed by Shikhar Shetty (3/72, 22 overs) in the 90th over, Sasikanth made sure Andhra saw it through to the end without further loss.
Karnataka debutants Madhav Bajaj (2/88, 30 overs) and Ritesh Bhatkal (1/71, 25 overs), despite bowling economical spells, failed to inflict more damage.
Earlier, overnight batters Abhishek Reddy (30, 43b, 4×5) and Shaik Rasheed (54, 121b, 4×4) started proceedings on a encouraging note in the first session, adding another 37 runs before left-arm spinner Shikhar dismissed Reddy, a former Karnataka batsman.
India A product Rasheed, meanwhile, perished when trapped in front by young Madhav, after stitching a 39-run stand with skipper Ricky Bhui (18, 37b, 1×6).
With two full days left in the game and Karnataka boasting a top-class batting line-up in their ranks, Smaran R’s men will look to wrap up the final four wickets early on the third day and force an outright win.
Scoreboard Karnataka (I Innings):
274 all out ANDHRA (I Innings): M Hemanth Reddy c Smaran b Shikhar 1 (5b) Abhishek Reddy lbw Shikhar 30 (43b 5×4) Tripurana Vijay c Rahul b Madhav 4 (9b 1×4) Shaik Rasheed lbw Madhav 54 (121b 4×4) Ricky Bhui c Rahul b Bhatkal 18 (37b 1×6) SV Rahul (batting) 108 (187b 4×10) Revanth Reddy c Rahul b Shikhar 97 (143b 13×4) KV Sasikanth (batting) 6 (27b 1×4). Extras (W-1 B-5 LB-5 NB-2) 13. TOTAL (for six wkts 95 overs) 331. Fall of wickets: 1-5 2-10 3-53 4-92 5-116 6-318. Bowling: Abhilash Shetty 12-0-49-0 Shikhar Shetty 22-2-72-3 Madhav Bajaj 30-3-88-2 Manvanth Kumar 4-0-33-0 Rithesh Bhatkal 25-2-71-1 Karun Nair 2-0-8-0. Other Group B brief scores (at Secunderabad): Tripura: 134 and 99/7 in 33 overs (Sridam Paul 25 Sentu Sarkar 27 n.o.; Mohammed Siraj 2-19 Tanay Thyagarajan 3-42) vs Hyderabad (O/n: 121/4): 294 all out in 103.2 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 54 Abhirath Reddy 32 Ruthik Mende 61 Rahul Radesh 40 Chama Milind 40; Sandip Sarkar 8-96 Parvez Sultan 2-76). At New Chandigarh: Assam (O/n: 68/3): 373 all out in 117 overs (Denish Das 103 Sibsankar Roy 143 n.o. Sumit Ghadigaonkar 28 Swarupam Purkayastha 66; Gurnoor Brar 2-85 Umesh Yadav 5-70 Emanjot Singh Chahal 2-68) vs 3/0 in 2 overs. At Rajkot: Saurashtra (O/n: 308/4): 392 all out in 110.4 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 102 Prerak Mankad 129; Rudra Dehari 2-84 Dev Aditya Singh 6-67 Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 2-106) vs Chhattisgarh: 122/3 in 55 overs (Anuj Tiwary 72 n.o. Mayank Sharma 32 n.o.).