Ranji Trophy: Ignored Karun Nair Hits 2nd Century To Take Karnataka To 319/3 Against Kerala

Out of favour India batter Karun Nair staked his claim with an unbeaten 142 to guide Karnataka 319 for three against Kerala on the opening day of a Group B Ranji Trophy match in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. Opting to bat, Karnataka lost openers Aneesh KV (8) and skipper Mayank Agarwal (5) early before Nair and wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith (65 off 110) shared 16 runs for the third wicket to stabilise the innings. Smaran Ravichandran (88 batting off 143 balls) was giving Nair company at the crease at stumps..

Nair decorated his knock with 14 boundaries and two hits over the fence, while Shrijith smashed 10 fours.

MD Nideesh (1/41), Nedumankuzhy Basil (1/58) and Baba Aparajith (1/65) were the wicket-takers for Kerala..

In another Group B match in New Chandigarh, Punjab rode on skipper Uday Saharan's 100 off 247 balls to reach 215 for five against Goa.

Besides Saharan, wicket-keeper Salil Arora was unbeaten on 51 off 131 deliveries..

Right arm medium-pacer Deepraj Gaonkar (2/22) picked up two wickets for Goa, while Mohit Redkar (1/41), Vasuki Koushik (1/28) and Arjun Tendulkar (1/58) scalped a wicket each..

In Indore, Madhya Pradesh were 64 for one against Chandigarh at stumps after the rest of the proceedings of the day was called of because of inclement weather.

The other Group B match between Maharasthra and Saurashtra has been washed out due to wet outfield.

Paul hits 113 to guide TN to 252/4 against Vidarbha

Pradosh Ranjan Paul continued his fine run with the bat, scoring yet another century as Tamil Nadu reached 252 for 4 at stumps on the opening day of their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha in Coimbatore on Saturday.

Paul, who struck a career-best double hundred against Nagaland in the previous round, compiled a fluent 113 featuring 13 boundaries, while Baba Indrajith was unbeaten on 94 at close of play, seven runs short of his hundred.

Paul added 179 runs for the fourth wicket with Indrajith after Tamil Nadu elected to bat first on winning the toss.

The hosts were in early trouble at 18 for 2, with openers Vimal Kumar (2) and Athish SR (3) dismissed cheaply by Nachiket Bhute and Praful Hinge respectively.

Paul then joined hands with Andrew Siddarth C to steady the innings before the latter fell to Akshay Karnewar in the 30th over. The left-hander later forged a strong partnership with Indrajith to guide Tamil Nadu to safety.

At stumps, Shahrukh Khan was batting alongside Indrajith after Bhute trapped Paul leg-before in the 87th over.

In Cuttack, commanding half-centuries from Abhishek Reddy (76) and Srikar Bharat (93) helped Andhra post 222 for 3 on the opening day against Odisha.

Opting to bat, openers Reddy and Bharat shared a 140-run partnership to give Andhra a solid start before Badal Biswal (1/52) broke the stand, with Rajesh Mohanty taking the catch to dismiss Bharat.

Sambit S Baral (2/32) then struck twice in successive deliveries of the 55th over, removing Reddy and trapping skipper Ricky Bhui in front to leave Andhra at 186 for 3.

At stumps, Shaik Rasheed (25) and Kirdant Karan Shinde (16) were at the crease.

In Ranchi, play was curtailed due to bad light, with Nagaland reducing Jharkhand to 91 for 2 in 31 overs on a weather-hit opening day.

Opener Shikhar Mohan (42) and Virat Singh (16) were unbeaten at stumps, while Sharandeep Singh (22) and Kumar Suraj (9) were the two wickets to fall.

At the BCA Stadium in Vadodara, no play was possible due to a wet outfield following rain.

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