<p>Reeeling at a 154 for six, Central managed to finish the day at 300 for six thanks mainly to Kaif’s 112 (222b, 17x4) and his 118-run association with Chawla (70 n.o., 102b, 9x4, 2x6) for the seventh wicket. Praveen Kumar was giving left-hander the company at draw of stumps.<br /><br />South skipper S Badrinath’s decision to bowl first was justified as Abhimanyu Mithun prised out opener Jalaj Saxena and number three Sanjay Bangar in no time. The Karnataka paceman cleaned up Saxena with a one that jagged back sharply while Bangar’s economy with his foot movement helped him get his second wicket when the 20-year-old rapped the veteran batsman on his pads to catch him plumb in front. <br /> <br />Kaif and Tanmay Srivastava (42) put on 55 for the third wicket but the latter’s wild slash at a widish delivery off Mithun put Manish Pandey in business at slip.<br /><br />Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati accounted for Suresh Raina while seamer C Ganapathy dismissed Parvinder Singh to further dent the Central innings. R Vinay Kumar then got rid of Naman Ojha, who trying to fend off a rising delivery could only manage to tickle it to gully where Arun Karthik brought up a brilliant one-handed catch diving full length to his left. At 154 for six, Central’s fate appeared sealed. However, Kaif stood firm and he found a firmer ally in Chawla as the duo helped their side share the honours.<br /><br />SCORE BOARD<br />CENTRAL ZONE (I Innings): Tanmay Srivastava c Pandey b Mithun 42, Jalaj Saxena b Mithun 7, Sanjay Bangar lbw Mithun 4, Mohammad Kaif c Pandey b Vinay Kumar 112, Suresh Raina c Ashwin b Jakati 22, Parvinder Singh c Arun Karthik b Ganapathy 1, Naman Ojha c Arun Karthik b Vinay Kumar 14, Piyush Chawla 70 batting, Praveen Kumar 17. Extras: ( LB-8, W-1, NB-2) 11. Total: (for 7 wkts, 90 overs) 300.<br />Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-31, 3-86, 4-125, 5-126, 6-154, 7-272.<br /><br />Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 23-2-89-2, A Mithun 18-5-44-3, C Ganapathy 14.2-3-34-1, R Ashwin 18.4-2-70, Shaddab Jakati 14-2-49-1, Abhinav Mukund 2-0-6-0.</p>
<p>Reeeling at a 154 for six, Central managed to finish the day at 300 for six thanks mainly to Kaif’s 112 (222b, 17x4) and his 118-run association with Chawla (70 n.o., 102b, 9x4, 2x6) for the seventh wicket. Praveen Kumar was giving left-hander the company at draw of stumps.<br /><br />South skipper S Badrinath’s decision to bowl first was justified as Abhimanyu Mithun prised out opener Jalaj Saxena and number three Sanjay Bangar in no time. The Karnataka paceman cleaned up Saxena with a one that jagged back sharply while Bangar’s economy with his foot movement helped him get his second wicket when the 20-year-old rapped the veteran batsman on his pads to catch him plumb in front. <br /> <br />Kaif and Tanmay Srivastava (42) put on 55 for the third wicket but the latter’s wild slash at a widish delivery off Mithun put Manish Pandey in business at slip.<br /><br />Left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati accounted for Suresh Raina while seamer C Ganapathy dismissed Parvinder Singh to further dent the Central innings. R Vinay Kumar then got rid of Naman Ojha, who trying to fend off a rising delivery could only manage to tickle it to gully where Arun Karthik brought up a brilliant one-handed catch diving full length to his left. At 154 for six, Central’s fate appeared sealed. However, Kaif stood firm and he found a firmer ally in Chawla as the duo helped their side share the honours.<br /><br />SCORE BOARD<br />CENTRAL ZONE (I Innings): Tanmay Srivastava c Pandey b Mithun 42, Jalaj Saxena b Mithun 7, Sanjay Bangar lbw Mithun 4, Mohammad Kaif c Pandey b Vinay Kumar 112, Suresh Raina c Ashwin b Jakati 22, Parvinder Singh c Arun Karthik b Ganapathy 1, Naman Ojha c Arun Karthik b Vinay Kumar 14, Piyush Chawla 70 batting, Praveen Kumar 17. Extras: ( LB-8, W-1, NB-2) 11. Total: (for 7 wkts, 90 overs) 300.<br />Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-31, 3-86, 4-125, 5-126, 6-154, 7-272.<br /><br />Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 23-2-89-2, A Mithun 18-5-44-3, C Ganapathy 14.2-3-34-1, R Ashwin 18.4-2-70, Shaddab Jakati 14-2-49-1, Abhinav Mukund 2-0-6-0.</p>
