JOIN USRonit More continued his terrific run as Karnataka staged a brilliant fightback against Railways on the second day of their Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy game here at the KSCA Navule Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts, overnight 208/9, added just six runs to the total before losing the last man Prasidh Krishna. But Karnataka pacers made complete use of the helping conditions in the morning to rock the Railways batting. The pace trio of Prasidh (2/26), Abhimanyu Mithun (2/22) and More (5/45) made life difficult for the Railways batsmen as the visitors were reduced to 55/6 in the first session.
Manish Rao’s (52 n.o., 132b, 5x4) rearguard act saw Railways recover from 71/7 to 143 all out. Rao managed to eke out 51 runs with the last two wickets as batting became easier in the second session.
Having gained a 71-run lead, Karnataka made a decent start, reaching stumps at 41 for no loss. With the lead now at 112, Karnataka would look to bat at least two sessions on the penultimate day to set a target closer to the 300-run mark.
Earlier, it was More who once again did the damage for Karnataka. The right-arm medium pacer, with 18 wickets, is currently the leading wicket-taker for Karnataka. Even during the post-lunch session, when the Railways’ tail began showing resistance, it was More who kept coming hard and looked like taking a wicket. The 26-year-old got the reward for his hard work as he dismissed the last two Railways’ batsmen to complete his five-wicket haul.
Samarth injured
Karnataka received a blow when opener R Samarth injured his finger while successfully taking a catch at slips to dismiss Prashant Gupta off Mithun. The injury forced Karnataka to change their opening combination as Devdutt Padikkal walked out with D Nischal. The Karnataka team management said Samarth will bat down the order if the need arises.
Fight for lead
Meanwhile, table toppers Saurashtra and former champions Mumbai were involved in a keen tussle for the first innings lead on day two of their Group ‘A’ match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Saurashtra bowled out Mumbai for 394 in the first innings in the morning and then replied with 213 for five wickets at close, still 181 runs adrift of the home team’s total after weathering an early collapse that saw them slumping to 37 for three.