JOIN USPawan, Satish, Amit score tons on Karnataka's day
Their hundreds and a massive 284-run second wicket partnership, the second highest in the State history for the wicket, between Pawan and Satish, powered Karnataka to 473 for four at close and to a formidable 368-run innings lead.
Amit (101 batting, 129b, 11x4, 1x6) joined the party in the post-lunch session, and the left-hander destroyed the remaining confidence in the Maharashtra camp with a hundred. Willingness to wait for the loose balls was the hall-mark of the second-wicket partnership that squeezed the life out of the Maharashtra attack. Both Pawan (152, 281b, 17x4) and Satish (141, 309b, 22x4) did not attempt a single aerial shot till they got their respective 200th delivery, and that revealed their approach.
Beginning the innings afresh after a break can be a challenging task even for the best in the business but Pawan and Satish tided over this difficulty, displaying immense maturity and focus to construct two shining hundreds. There was also a period in the morning session when the Maharashtra bowlers, especially left-arm seamer Samad Fallah, received some help from the surface, and the State youngsters showed a lot of patience to see through that testing phase, signalling a long day for the hosts’ bowlers on the field. However, patience was the only binding factor between their innings. Pawan was more assured in his ways, unfurling drives and cuts laced with elegance and timing.
Ironically, his hundred came in bit of an ungainly way, edging Sajjin Sureshnath between wicket-keeper and first slip for a boundary. It was Pawan’s fourth Ranji Trophy hundred and second successive of the current season. On the other hand, Satish was a little unsure about his off-stump, getting beaten a number of times during the day, particularly against Fallah, who bowled a lively spell without any real help from the other end. But the 21-year old showed enough pluck to hang in there to score his maiden Ranji Trophy hundred in his fifth match.
Unable to check the steady flow of runs, Maharashtra bowlers were soon reduced to a despaired lot, and umpire Viswas Nerulkar calling Harshad Khadiwale for chucking did not help either. Nerulkar warned the home side skipper while bowling the fourth ball of the ninth over for illegal action, but he allowed the pace bowler to complete the remaining two balls. But Khadiwale had to withdraw himself from attack, severely undermining the bowling options of Maharashtra.
After the dismissals of Pawan, edging a hook off Fallah to Rohit Motwani behind the stumps, and Satish, snicking Kiran Adhav to Azhar Ansari, Amit heaped more misery on Maharashtra. After an initial 30 minutes of struggle, the southpaw harried Maharashtra with powerful shots all over the park, first in the company of Manish Pandey and then with B Akhil. Akhil and Amit realised 83 runs for an entertaining fifth wicket alliance.
Their partnership has given Karnataka a chance to declare early on the morrow to have a go at Maharashtra batsmen.
SCOREBOARD
MAHARASHTRA (I Innings): 105 all out
KARNATAKA (I innings, O/n: 125/1): KB Pawan c Motwani b Fallah 152 (388m, 281b, 17x4), R Uthappa lbw Fallah 0 (1b, 6m); G Satish c Ansari b Adhav 141 (408m, 309b, 22x4); Amit Verma (batting) 101 (161m, 129b, 11x4, 1x6); M Pandey (run out) 32 (70m, 53b, 6x4); B Akhil (batting) 24 (62m, 42b, 2x4); Extras (LB-10, NB-12, W-1) 23; Total (for 4 wkts, in 134 overs) 473
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Uthappa), 2-295 (Pawan), 3-318 (Satish), 4-390 (Pandey). Bowling: S Fallah 34-5-106-2 (nb-11), S Sureshnath 29-4-93-0, A Ansari 23-8-70-0, H Khadiwale 9-0-25-0 (nb-1, w-1), K Adhav 32-2-123-1, G Gaikwad 7-0-46-0.