Manish’s blistering knock puts K’taka in command

NT Correspondent

Skipper Manish Pandey’s blistering 156 and K V Siddharth’s unbeaten 140 helped Karnataka score an imposing 392 for 5 at stumps on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group C match against Railways here on Thursday.

Sent in to bat, Karnataka saw India Test batter Mayank Agarwal fall early when he was run out for 16. The talented left-hander Devdutt Padikkal looked to be settling down before falling to Yuvraj for 21.

One-drop batter R Samarth (47) and Siddharth (140 batting off 221 balls) added 60 runs before the former was dismissed by Avinash Yadav. The Railways bowlers did not know what hit them as Siddharth and Pandey went on the rampage.

The experienced Pandey, in particular, was severe on the opposition bowlers, hitting 12 fours and 10 sixes during his 121-ball innings. He hammered three sixes in one over off Avinash Yadav. In fact, he reached his ton with a six off pacer Amit Mishra.The 267-run partnership between Pandey and Siddharth from 283 balls piled the pressure on the Railways bowlers. From 106 for 2 in 34 overs, the Karnataka batters raised the tempo with the captain toying with the opposition bowling.The final session of the day saw Karnataka rack up 140 runs before the Railways bowlers stemmed the flow by sending back Pandey and Sharath before stumps.

Rahane answers his critics with gritty 108*
His Test career at stake, beleaguered India batter Ajinkya Rahane compiled a much-needed century to keep himself in India reckoning while guiding Mumbai to 263 for three against Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy opener here on Thursday. The focus was, however, firmly on Rahane who ended the day at an unbeaten 108 from 250 deliveries. Rahane took his time before starting to play freely and got to his 36th first-class hundred in 212 balls.

U-19 star Dhull smashes 113 on debut, joins Sachin, Rohit
Making his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi, Dhull, 19, recorded a century just after lunch on Day 1 against Tamil Nadu at the ACA Stadium in Baraspara on Thursday. With this, Dhull has joined a prestigious list of Indian players to have registered a century on Ranji Trophy debut, which comprises legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Amol Mujumdar, Rohit Sharma and several other legends. Dhull stood tall for his team even as wickets tumbled.

Brief scores: Karnataka: 392 for 5 in 90 overs [Samarth 47 (79 balls, 8 X 4), Siddharth KV 140* (221 balls, 17 X 4, 2 X 6), Manish Pandey 156 (121 balls, 12 X 4, 10 X 6), Shivam Chaudhary 2/22] vs. Railways. Mumbai: 263/3 in 87 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 108*, Sarfaraz Khan 121*) vs Saurashtra. Delhi: 291/7 (Yash Dhull 113, Jonty Sidhu 71, Mohammed 2/40) vs Tamil Nadu.