JOIN USAt stumps at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday, Karnataka made light of being asked to take first strike to race to 157 for one in 47 overs, thwarting Rajasthan skipper Arjit Gupta’s designs of cashing in on conditions that decepetively appeared to be in favour of the bowlers.
Play didn’t begin until 1.30 pm owing to wet underfoot conditions, but once they were put in to bat, Karnataka gradually stamped their authority, with the impressive Rahul leading the way.
The 17-year-old right-hand batsman, already highly talked about within the State circles, added 109 (141m, 184b) with left-handed fellow-opener Karan Rao, who made 48 runs, and had put on 48 by the close of play with his skipper Ganesh Satish, batting on 25.
Rahul’s 81 has come in 223 minutes off 130 deliveries with 14 hits to the fence, and has put Karnataka in a position from where they can aspire to drive home the advantage despite the loss of 43 overs on day one.
Brief scores: Karnataka: 157/1 in 47 overs (Karan Rao 48, KL Rahul 81 n.o., Ganesh Satish 25 n.o.) vs Rajasthan.