The short ball proved to be Punjab’s nemesis as Karnataka gained the upper hand on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal.
Karnataka, who bowled short of length on a green pitch, executed their plan to perfection after Rahul Dravid opted to field. Punjab top order batsmen were guilty on two fronts. They failed to counter the short ball and, failed to convert the starts. At the end of the day’s play, the visitors were 292 for nine with Vishwas Bhalla batting on 62 and Harmeet Bansal on 11.
Openers Sunny Sohal and Ravi Inder Singh tried to negotiate the first hour by playing cautiously but seamers Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay Kumar went about their job meticulously.
One of the leading wicket takers in the tournament, Mithun kept one short and it took the leading edge off Sohal’s bat. Stationed at gully, Robin Uthappa took a diving catch and Punjab were 19 for one in 5.3 overs.
Mayank Sidana joined Ravi Inder and the duo brought up the team’s 50 before Mithun removed Ravi Inder.
With the short ball fetching them wickets, Karnataka persisted with the line of attack.
Uday Kaul was the next man in and along with Sidana stitched a useful partnership of 46 runs.
Sidana, who was shaping up well, failed to convert the 37 into a big score, and fell to Vinay Kumar.
Kaul kept one end going with his lusty hitting. Some sloppy fielding in a Vinay Kumar over allowed Bhalla and Bansal to add 41 for the last wicket.
{{/usCountry}}Kaul kept one end going with his lusty hitting. Some sloppy fielding in a Vinay Kumar over allowed Bhalla and Bansal to add 41 for the last wicket.
{{/usCountry}}Brief Score: Punjab 292 for 9 (U Kaul 68, V Bhalla 61; RV Kumar 3-91, S Joshi 4-62) vs Karnatka.