The Hindu : Hat-trick by Ram Kumar as T.N. calls the shots

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 08, 2003

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Sport - Cricket

Hat-trick by Ram Kumar as T.N. calls the shots

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE Nov. 7. Left arm spinner Ram Kumar's hat-trick helped Tamil Nadu cap a day of dominance with a flourish against Karnataka at the IAF Ground here on Friday.

Karnataka took first strike on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match and suffered the batting jitters as steady Tamil Nadu bowlers, circumspect batsmen and a pitch with varied bounce stifled the runs. Karnataka was bowled out for 208 in 85.5 overs and at the close, Tamil Nadu remained at three for no loss.

The Karnataka innings stumbled as Ram Kumar (28.5-6-42-4) bowled tight and reaped the rewards in a continuous spell from the Pavilion End. It was apt that Ram Kumar drove home the final nail as he grabbed the last three Karnataka wickets — Dodda Ganesh, Venkatesh Prasad and Udit Patel — in succession in his 29th over.

The tentative trio were caught off the one that spun away while the close in cordon indulged in whoopee's of delight. The safe hands of wicket-keeper P. Raju, S. Suresh and S. Ramesh at slips helped Ram Kumar walk into the record books while the host Karnataka grapples with the challenge of restricting Tamil Nadu's reply.

Earlier, Karnataka skipper and opener J. Arun Kumar's (26) cameo paused as a persevering Balaji (four for 51) beat him all ends up. Arun's partner Barrington Rowland succumbed to M.R. Shrinivas and the seamer exulted again as the vagaries of the pitch helped him slip one that kept low and castled Sudhindra Shinde.

The middle order weakened by the absence of Vijay Bharadwaj, who was ruled out with a back spasm, found hope in the 50-run fourth-wicket partnership of Deepak Chougule and Thilak Naidu.

However a revival never happened as Chougule drove Balaji straight to Tamil Nadu skipper S. Suresh at covers.

Debutant Stuart Binny failed and with Ram Kumar trapping Thilak, the Karnataka innings failed to take wing.

Sunil Joshi's unbeaten 46 was the lone glimmer. The southpaw eschewed his penchant for the rollicking shots past mid-wicket and though he did open his shoulders later in the innings, his knock reflected a new found patience - a virtue that was missing in his team-mates approach against their traditional rivals.

Brief scores: Karnataka 208 (J. Arun Kumar 26, Thilak Naidu 32, Sunil Joshi 46 not out, L. Balaji four for 51, Ram Kumar four for 42 (incl. hat-trick)) vs Tamil Nadu

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