JOIN USWickets at regular intervals hampered Karnataka’s progress against Tamil Nadu on the opening day of the three-day Vijay Merchant under-16 South Zone tournament at the SDNRW ground here on Monday.
After being asked to bat first, Karnataka started solidily through Nikin Jose (96, 221b, 9x4) and Dev Padikkal (28). The opening wicket duo added 61 runs in 21.2 overs as the hosts looked set for a long haul and a much more gratifying total than their eventual 238 for five in 94.4 overs.
The first blow came in the form of Padikkal’s dismissal to left-arm spinner S Ajith Ram. They soon slipped to 91 for three in little more than 39 overs as leg-spinner S Kishan Kumar ousted Manoj Bhandage and Sujay Sateri. Those two quickets followed a phase of consolidation as Jose and Gautam Sagar (69 n.o.) added 106 runs in 219 balls for the fourth wicket as Karnataka reached 197 for three in the 76th over.
Ajith Ram returned to snap the blooming alliance, dismissing Jose four runs short of a hundred. Sagar and BA Mohith added 41 runs for the fifth wicket but medium pacer Lokesj Raj dismissed Mohith in the last ball of the day as Karnataka ceded considerable ground to the visitors.
In the other encounter happening at Mysore, the entire day’s play between Kerala and Hyderabad was abandoned due to rain.
Goa in trouble
In the match at Mandya, the Goan batsmen ran into trouble against the Andhra bowlers before play was called off for rain at 3.30 in the afternoon.
Goa were reduced to 122/9 off 37.2 overs as Surya Kumar (3/22) excelled with the ball.
Only Anush Bandookar (30) provided stiff resistance as the Goa lost wickets at regular intervals before rain put a halt to the day’s proceedings.
Brief scores: At Mysore: Karnataka: 238/5 in 94.4 overs (Nikin Jose 96, Gautam Sagar 69 n.o.; S Ajith Ram 2-68, S Kishan Kumar 2-21) vs Tamil Nadu.
Kerala: 80/1 in 37.2 overs (Arun Aji 43 n.o.) vs Hyderabad. The day’s play abandoned due to rain.
At Mandya: Goa: 122/9 in 76.5 overs (Anush Bandookar 30; Surya Kumar 3-22) vs Andhra. The day’s play was called off due to rain at 3.30 pm.