BENGALURU: A nicely watered wicket, cold air, disciplined bowling and callous shot selection collided to ensure Punjab crashed to a lowly 55 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday. Their opposition Karnataka, on the brink of an early exit, had more than one positive on the first day of their Ranji Trophy fixture here.
R Smaran, then stood tall, figuratively and literally, to drive home the advantage as Karnataka reached 199/4 in the 50 overs they faced at stumps, a healthy 144-run lead. The cornerstone of that innings was Smaran’s unbeaten 100-ball 83 (12x4; 1x6).
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The 21-year-old, who had an underwhelming start to his Ranji Trophy career, found his bearings during the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph. Fresh from the century in the final of the white-ball competition, the southpaw was a picture of intent, elegance and assured footwork.
A lot has been spoken about the former state U-23 captain being an India prospect. While he has miles to go, he appears well on his way. A confident youngster, whose stroke-making finesse is complemented by his flair for the big hits, Smaran didn’t take long to settle. His first boundary was off the sixth delivery he faced.
He was initially cautious but once he got his eye in, he switched gears like a well-greased machine. That he was in his element was apparent when, in the 30th over, when he went after Gurnoor Brar, entertaining the few watchers with cover drives. He smacked three boundaries in four deliveries.
That approach was bound to give the opposition opportunities, but the close calls were few and far between and he continued in the same vein largely untroubled. It was a courageous innings since Karnataka had wobbled slightly after a good start from openers KV Aneesh (33) and Mayank Agarwal (20). The two fell in quick succession and another wicket at that point could have reduced the good work from the bowlers to nought.
Aneesh gifted his wicket to Aradhya Shukla with a mistimed pull, while Agarwal failed to negotiate a Sanvir Singh delivery which kept low and was rapped right in front on the pads. Devdutt Padikkal (27) and KL Shrijith (26) too squandered promising starts.
PACE PUNCH
Agarwal had called right at the toss. Shubman Gill, who led Punjab, has plenty at stake after a low-key tour of Australia. Abhilash Shetty (3/19), making his second Ranji Trophy appearance for Karnataka, struggled at first and Gill struck him for a boundary to get off the mark.
But Shetty quickly figured out Gill’s love for the drive and soon had the Punjab skipper picking the wrong line. The inside-edge flew straight to wicketkeeper Shrijith. The 28-year-old Shrijith had a busy day with the big gloves as he collected six catches.
Karnataka’s pace attack, led by the ever-dependable V Koushik (4/16), rarely strayed as they made the most of the conducive morning conditions. Along with Prasidh Krishna (2/11) they tied down Punjab’s batting line-up. After Shetty removed the openers, Koushik laid bare Punjab’s middle-order, removing Pukhraj Mann (1) and Anmolpreet Singh (0) off consecutive deliveries. Prabhsimran Singh too left early, leaving Punjab staring down the barrel at 14/4. They never recovered.
At one point, it appeared they would be bowled out for the lowest-ever Ranji Trophy score at this venue – 44 by Mumbai in 2015 — but were saved by the 11 extras which the hosts conceded.
