Karnataka slipped from a comfortable position to land in a spot of bother at the end of the second day of its quarterfinal clash against Uttar Pradesh at Alur ground here on Tuesday.
After dismissing Uttar Pradesh for a paltry 155 to gain a handy first-innings lead of 98, Karnataka looked in control. A batting collapse, however, allowed Uttar Pradesh back into the contest.
Karnataka stuttered to 100 for eight in the second essay and holds on an overall lead of 198 runs.
No less than 21 wickets fell on a frenetic day of thrills and spills, even if the pitch held no demons.
The Karnataka bowling attack, comprising Ronit More (3/47), V. Vyshak (2/29), Vidhwath Kaverappa (2/19), and K. Gowtham (2/43), gave the home team the early advantage.
FOLLOW:
More and Vyshak were outstanding with the new ball, keeping the ball full and shaping it away. Vyshak struck in the first ball he bowled, getting Samarth Singh (0) to edge one to the wicketkeeper. More sent Aryan Juyal (5) back with a beauty that straightened after pitching on off stump.
Uttar Pradesh relied heavily on Priyam Garg (39) and Rinku Singh (33), but both batters failed to make big scores. Garg was unlucky to get an inside edge onto his pads, leading the ball to pop back to More for a caught-and-bowled. Rinku failed to get on top of a short ball from Gowtham, the extra bounce leading to a soft cut shot to point. Tailenders Shivam Mavi (32, 35b, 3x4, 1x6), Yash Dayal (13) and last man Ankit Rajpoot (18) made contributions.
Vidwath Kaverappa, who like Vyshak was playing his second First-Class match, was impressed with a tidy spell. From wide of the crease, Kaverappa got the ball to hold its line and rattle Prince Yadav’s stumps.
Karnataka was shunted out of the driver’s seat, courtesy a horror show from the top-order. Mayank Agarwal rushed down the track and nicked spinner Saurabh Kumar, while Karun Nair once again perished playing away from the body. Captain Manish Pandey inexplicably attempted a quick single to Karan Sharma at the cover, but a direct hit found him well short. K.V. Siddharth was beaten all ends up by an inswinger from Ankit Rajpoot.
Shreyas Gopal, K. Gowtham and V. Vyshak fell in the last five overs before the close of play. The visitor left the field on a high, as Vyshak was trapped leg-before by Saurabh in the last ball of the day.
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