Karnataka Bowlers Crush UP, Take First-Innings Lead in Ranji Trophy
Karnataka Dominates Uttar Pradesh on Day 1 of Ranji Trophy Clash
Lucknow, November 13: Karnataka bowlers, led by V. Koushik, put on a stellar performance to dismantle Uttar Pradesh (UP) for a mere 89 runs on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group-C encounter at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. The bowlers’ brilliance set the stage for Karnataka’s batters to take a 38-run first-innings lead.
The morning haze enveloped the venue, creating a challenging environment for UP’s batters. Koushik and Vidyadhar Patil exploited the conditions to reduce the hosts to five for three within the first five overs. Vidyadhar drew first blood, dismissing Abhishek Goswami, while Koushik induced Madhav Kaushik’s outside edge and castled skipper Aryan Juyal in consecutive deliveries.
Debutant Rituraj Sharma and Aaditya Sharma briefly resisted the pacers, but the latter was strangled down leg. Debutant fast bowler Yashovardhan Parantap joined the party, dismissing Rituraj with an angled delivery. Koushik completed his fifer with Sameer Rizvi edging behind, while the lower-order offered little resistance.
Karnataka’s batting faced a similar fate initially, with Nikin Jose and R. Smaran falling cheaply to Aaqib Khan. However, debutant Krishnan Shrijith played a composed knock under pressure, adding 48 runs with skipper Mayank Agarwal. Shrijith held firm amidst some poor shot-making, including Manish Pandey’s tame dismissal.
At the close of play, Karnataka had reached 127 for five, with Shrijith unbeaten on 68. The visitors will look to extend their lead on Day 2 and put pressure on UP.