The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : First victory and relief for Karnataka

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Wednesday, Dec 08, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

First victory and relief for Karnataka

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE, DEC. 7. Karnataka registered its maiden triumph in the current Ranji season with a five-wicket victory over Andhra in the Elite Division Group A match that concluded at the RSI Ground here on Tuesday.

However the journey towards victory proved tough as the host batsmen struggled with a mix of nerves and bad shots to make the second innings target of 155 appear bigger than its actual worth. And it finally needed the presence of Thilak Naidu, the first innings centurion, to helm the chase with his unbeaten 36.

Karnataka scored 158 for five in 39.4 overs to post its first victory from four matches and Thilak Naidu and Sunil Joshi were at the crease to help the host breathe easy. Earlier in the morning, the Andhra tail wagged briefly and the visitor mustered a second innings score of 245 that left Karnataka chasing 155.

Rousing start

The chase had a rousing start as Robin Uthappa cover drove the first delivery of the innings with aplomb for four leaving seamer Shahabuddin fuming. A lunch score of 26 for no loss hinted at a cruise towards victory but the script changed briefly in the afternoon session as Robin after surviving a few close calls against Shahabuddin, gave the charge to Venugopala Rao's off-break and was stumped by make-shift wicket-keeper Prasad Reddy, who stepped into injured skipper M.S.K. Prasad's shoes.

Karnataka skipper Sujith Somasundar joined Barrington Rowland at the wicket and the duo guided the innings with their contrasting styles. Barrington offered a dour blade and a defensive approach while Sujith often eased his shoulders and launched into expansive drives that kept the scoreboard ticking. However Sujith's extravagance also undid him as another attempted drive against R.V. Ch. Prasad proved fatal as he dragged the ball onto his stumps. It was now the turn of Venugopala Rao to strike and in the span of three deliveries he trapped Barrington and then castled a woefully out-of-form Vijay Bharadwaj for a blob.

Spot of bother

At four for 98, Karnataka was in a state of bother but Thilak Naidu at the other end, stayed calm. Meanwhile Stuart Binny played a cameo rich with lofted shots and forceful punches but after striking two boundaries against Venugopala Rao, attempted a needless hoick and holed out to Kalyan Krishna at mid-off. Thilak however remained confident and he picked the gaps on the off-side against R.V.Ch. Prasad and later struck three boundaries in a Venugopal Rao over to ease the dressing room nerves.

Joshi too joined the act, punching Shahabuddin straight down the ground and soon a much-awaited victory was achieved despite self-induced hurdles. Karnataka gained four points and now has six from four matches while Andhra was struck to its two points from four matches. Karnataka will clash with Delhi and Andhra will face Bengal in the next set of matches commencing on December 13.

The scores:

Andhra — 1st innings: 237

Karnataka — 1st innings: 328

Andhra — 2nd innings: Amit Pathak b Vinay Kumar 10, L.N. Prasad Reddy c Thilak Naidu b N.C. Aiyappa 16, A.S.K. Verma b Sunil Joshi 58, Y. Venugopala Rao c Thilak Naidu b N.C. Aiyappa 64, A.G. Pradeep lbw Joshi 0, Y. Gnaneshwar Rao c & b Dodda Ganesh 6, Shahabuddin c Thilak Naidu b N.C. Aiyappa 19, R.V. Ch. Prasad c Somasundar b Aiyappa 17, Faiq Ahmed (not out) 22, M.S.K. Prasad c Uthappa b Joshi 11, Kalyan Krishna c Aiyappa b Joshi 0. Extras (b-18, lb-1, nb-2, w-1) 22, Total 245.

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-45, 3-136, 4-140, 5-165, 6-180, 7-204, 8-211, 9-245.

Karnataka bowling: Dodda Ganesh 20-3-67-1 (nb-2), Vinay Kumar 15-3-47-1, Sunil Joshi 33.5-12-63-4, N.C. Aiyappa 22-9-33-4, Stuart Binny 3-0-12-0 (w-1), C. Raghu 3-1-4-0.

Karnataka — 2nd innings: Robin Uthappa st Prasad Reddy b Venugopala Rao 18, Barrington lbw Y. Venugopala Rao 27, Sujith Somasundar b R.V. Ch. Prasad 26, V.S. Thilak Naidu (not out) 36, Vijay Bharadwaj b Venugopala Rao 0, Stuart Binny c Kalyan Krishna b Venugopala Rao 22, Sunil Joshi (not out) 15, Extras (b-8, lb-4, w-2) 14, Total (for five wkts.) 158.

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-69, 3-98, 4-98, 5-127.

Andhra bowling: Shahabuddin 14-5-39-0, Kalyan Krishna 7-1-30-0 (w-1), Y. Venugopala Rao 11-2-47-4, R.V. Ch. Prasad 4.4 -1-15-1 (w-1), Md. Faiq 2-0-10-0, A.S.K. Verma 1-0-5-0.

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