Contrasting centuries by opener D. Nischal (113, 339b, 10x4) and debutant wicketkeeper B.R. Sharath (103, 161b, 20x4) and the duo’s 160-run partnership for the sixth wicket kicked off Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy campaign by ensuring at least three points versus defending champion Vidarbha.
On the penultimate day at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, Civil Lines, Nischal and Sharath helped Karnataka overtake Vidarbha’s first innings total of 307 and capain R. Vinay Kumar, batting stiff neck, ensured a healthy 71-run lead for the visiting team.
Two lucky dismissals — a rough call by umpire Rajeev Godara to uphold a caught-behind appeal against R. Sanjay and captain Faiz Fazal’s run out in the last session meant Vidarbha still has to work hard to avoid an outright defeat.
Veteran Wasim Jaffer and seasoned pro Ganesh Satish may have helped Vidarbha wipe off the deficit but, with the team leading by a solitary run, the duo will have to dig out in the morning to take the team to safety.
Wednesday, however, belonged to the young duo with different styles of batting. While Nischal continued his dogged defence to frustrate the bowlers, Sharath continued his boundary-spree from the second evening to race to a century. The ’keeper drove with aplomb, cut fiercely and pulled with panache to leave a sparse home team supporters spellbound.
With Karnataka closing in on the 99-run overnight deficit, Vidarbha opted for the new ball the moment it was available five overs into the day’s play. But Sharath took the zip off it, caressing left-arm spinner Aditya Sarvate in the second over with the red cherry.
As a result, an over after Nischal trudged to his second First Class hundred, Sharath flicked Sarvate for a flick through mid-wicket and a sweetly-timed sweep off successive balls to not only give Karnataka the vital lead but also raise bat for a deserving hundred in his maiden outing.
Two balls later, Sharath missed one from Sarvate and the bowler finally got his reward. Soon after lunch, Nischal nicked Sarvate to Akshay Wadkar and the ’keeper — who had given him a reprieve on on 90 earlier in the morning — caught it cleanly to end a marathon innings.
Sarvate then earned his seventh five-for with the last wicket in the Karnataka innings but with the team having conceded the lead, the left-arm spinner wasn’t in a celebratory mood.
The scores:
Vidarbha — 1st innings: 307.
Karnataka — 1st innings: R. Samarth c Jaffer b Sarvate 1, D. Nischal c Wadkar b Sarvate 113, K.V. Siddharth lbw b Wakhare 19, Karun Nair lbw b Sarvate 15, Stuart Binny c Jaffer b Wakhare 20, Shreyas Gopal c Sanjay b Nalkande 30, B.R. Sharath lbw b Sarvate 103, R. Vinay Kumar (not out) 39, J. Suchith c Wadkar b Sanjay 20, Abhimanyu Mithun c Wankhade b Sanjay 0, M. Prasidh Krishna b Sarvate 0; Extras (b-1, lb-7, nb-9, w-1): 18; Total (in 134 overs): 378.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-30, 3-54, 4-87, 5-149, 6-309, 7-346, 8-377, 9-377.
Vidarbha bowling: Lalit 21-4-69-0, Sarvate 49-17-91-5, Wagh 10-1-32-0, Wakhare 34-6-93-2, Nalkande 13-4-62-1, Sanjay 7-2-23-2.
Vidarbha — 2nd innings: Faiz Fazal (run out) 14, R. Sanjay c Sharath b Suchith 13, Wasim Jaffer (batting) 21, Ganesh Satish (batting) 24; Total (for two wkts. in 28 overs): 72.
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-32.
Karnataka bowling: Mithun 4-1-6-0, Shreyas 4-0-14-0, Suchith 10-3-18-1, Prasidh 8-0-32-0, Binny 2-1-2-0.
