Not for the first time this season, Karnataka were left to ponder what might have been if their fielders had held on to two eminently catchable chances. Bharat Chipli dropped Cheteshwar Pujara when the batsman was still in single digits off left-arm spinner KP Appanna. Later substitute B Akhil failed to latch on to a head-high catch at slip from Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shah, paceman R Vinay Kumar being the unlucky bowler.

While the hosts will rue those missed opportunities, they can look back at their opening day's performance with great satisfaction. Having put Saurashtra in on a warm day, Karnataka rode on the efforts of the indefatigable Vinay to reduced the visitors to 229 for eight at stumps in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group 'A' clash here at the Gangotri Glades on Sunday.    
      
Appearing in his 30th Ranji match, Vinay claimed his fifth five-wicket haul and in the process also took his 100th wicket when he dismissed Kanaiya Vaghela.    Much before Karnataka’s bowlers took control of the proceedings, the script, however, once again seemed to be going horribly wrong. The pitch had held some of its dampness despite taking a solid beating from the sun for the whole of Saturday. Yere Goud thought so too as he entrusted his pacers to exploit the helpful conditions. The visiting batsmen, however, didn't allow the bowlers much success for close to three hours, by which time the pitch had lost whatever it had to offer the bowlers.

With their best batsman Pujara looking in ominous touch and opener Vaghela glued to the other end, another long day on the field looked iminent. Initially, though, Goud's decision to bowl first looked both bold and justified when Vinay got one to kick and forced Sagar Jogyani to nick it to stumper Thilak Naidu. Vaghela and number three Sitanshu Kotak, however, denied the hosts further success, raising 43 in 129 balls. Just when it seemed as if things were drifting away, Vinay struck in his second spell, trapping a shuffling Kotak in front.

Totally dominated
That heralded the arrival of Pujara, who injected some urgency into the innings. The talented right-hander, enjoying the repreive early in his innings, looked set for another big score, cutting and pulling in style. Vinay, who was used in short bursts, was getting into a fine rhythm in the meanwhile. In his third spell, the 23-year-old got rid of the dangerous Pujara, whose front-foot drive flew to Robin Uthappa at gully. The 19-year-old totally dominated the third-wicket stand with an extremely cautious Vaghela, collecting 48 runs in the 62-run alliance. In his very next over, Vinay accounted for Vaghela, caught behind, for his 100th wicket.

Vinay's new-ball partner NC Aiyappa struck twice in quick succession to get rid of Firoz Bambhaniya and Ravindra Jadeja. At 136 for six, Saurashtra had their backs firmly against the wall before a fortuious Shah (34, 51b, 4x4) and an attacking Rakesh Dhruve (34, 34b, 7x4) brought some substance to the struggling innings.

With the association testing their patience, Goud once again summoned the services of Vinay and the latter obliged by removing Dhruve, caught behind by Naidu, who had busy day pouching five catches. After bowling on tirelessly under testing conditions, Vinay had to leave the field with cramps.

Though Karnataka, who went in with Bharath Chipli instead of Akhil, did well to get rid of Shah, Kamlesh Mehta and Sandeep Jobanputra held on tenaciously to see off the day without further damage. 

SCORE BOARD

SAURASHTRA (I Innings): Kanaiya Vaghela c Naidu b Vinay Kumar 37 (192m, 142b, 3x4), Sagar Jogyani c Naidu b Vinay Kumar 0 (19m, 11b), Sitanshu Kotak lbw Vinay Kumar 18 (88m, 59b, 1x4), Cheteshwar Pujara c Uthappa b Vinay Kumar 48 (74m, 61b, 8x4), Firoz Bambhaniya c Naidu b Aiyappa 13 (61m, 44b, 2x4), Ravindra Jadeja c Naidu b Aiyappa 9 (31m, 25b, 2x4), Jaydev Shah c Appanna b Joshi 34 (92m, 51b, 4x4), Rakesh Dhruve c Naidu b Vinay Kumar 34 (43m, 34b, 7x4), Kamlesh Makwana (batting) 9 (81m, 71b), Sandeep Jobanputra 17 (53m, 42b, 3x4). Extras (LB-8, NB-2) 10. Total (for 8 wkts, 90 overs) 229.

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Jogyani), 2-50 (Kotak), 3-112 (Pujara), 4-114 (Vaghela), 5-135 (Jadeja), 6-136 (Bambhaniya), 7-191 (Dhruve), 8-206 (Shah),     
Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 22.3-4-70-5 (nb-2), NC Aiyappa 19-6-49-2, Bharath Chipli 8-4-5-0, Sunil   Joshi 25.2-11-44-1, C Raghu 5-0-13-0, KP Appanna 10.1-2-40-0.