Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Spinners dominate as Karnataka takes control against Bihar on Day 1

After Bihar could manage mere 143 in the first essay, the Karnataka openers could only bat for three overs, scoring 16, before the match was called off due to bad light.

FILE PHOTO : Shreyas Gopal’s flighted leg-spin proved to be a nagging headache for Bihar batters. | Photo Credit: N. Sudarshan/ The Hindu

Spinners, who accounted for seven of Bihar’s 10 wickets on a surface that gripped and aided turn, put Karnataka in the ascendancy on the opening day of their third-round Ranji Trophy ‘Group C’ clash at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium here on Saturday.

After the host could manage mere 143 in the first essay, the Karnataka openers could only bat for three overs, scoring 16, before the match was called off due to bad light.

Earlier on Saturday, Shreyas Gopal’s flighted leg-spin proved to be a nagging headache for Bihar batters, while red-ball debutant Mohsin Khan, a lanky 21-year-old off-spinner, also put the opposition out of sorts with three scalps for himself.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s much-anticipated return to the squad proved to be a damp squib. Pacer V Koushik, aided by overcast conditions, got the new ball to swing ever so slightly and thud into the opening batter’s pads. Moments later, a subtle change of pace from Vyshak Vijaykumar, who received a maiden T20I call-up for the South Africa series on Friday, saw Bihar’s No. 3 Babul Kumar balloon to Mohsin at gully.

Sraman Nigrodh trod cautiously thereon but he kept losing partners at the other end. Bipin Saurabh hit a few boundaries to play to the crowd, which had somehow managed to percolate through despite the match being officially held ‘behind closed doors’. However, his innings was cut short by a Manish Pandey blinder at second slip immediately after lunch.

Nigrodh continued to work his fingers to the bone, occasionally making the bowlers pay for loose deliveries. He hit the first six of the match off a full and wide delivery, much to the chagrin of Gopal. A few people in the stands took selfies with the match ball before throwing it back to the fielder at deep cover. However, Gopal had the proverbial ‘last laugh’ in the 53rd over when Abhinav Manohar ran in from midwicket to pouch the mishit.

Once Raghuvendra Pratap Singh’s wicket fell, Bihar was merely biding for time.

Brief Score

Bihar – 1st innings: Total (for 10 wkts. in 55.5 overs): 143 (Sraman Nigrodh 60, Bipin Saurabh 31, Mohsin 3/50, Gopal 4/28)

Karnataka – 1st innings: Total (for 0 wkts. in 3 overs): 16