BANGALORE, February 5: Karnataka claimed the honours on the first day of the four day Group `A' Ranji Trophy Super League fixture against Punjab, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.Karnataka skipper Anil Kumble did his team a great favour by winning the toss and despite minor hiccups, Karnataka finished the day at a healthy 268 for seven. And on a wicket which has plenty of bite, Karnataka's total could well become a match-winning one.
The Punjab fielders contributed their bit in letting Karnataka escape from a tight situation by flooring a few catches.
Off-spinner Harbajan Singh brought about a slump in Karnataka innings by claiming three wickets in quick succession after Karnataka got off to a reasonable start. He obtained good purchase from the wicket, to keep the Karnataka batsmen on a tight leash after Sujith Somasundar had taken a heavy toll of the medium-pacers.
Dravid made good use of the chance, piecing together a partnership of 78 runs for the fifth wicket with Fazal Khaleel. At118 for four, Karnataka appeared to be in trouble as Dravid too looked unconvincing. Dravid took 21 balls to open his account but with Khaleel looking to force the pace and succeeding to some extent, the pressure eased somewhat. Khaleel drove with good timing and the 150 of the innings came in 49.1 overs.
At this juncture, Dravid was again reprieved when Rakesh Saini at short mid-wicket failed to take a fairly difficult chance off Aashish Kapoor.With Karnataka losing two wickets for the addition of just two runs, Punjab looked set to polish off the innings quickly. However, Kumble and Joshi steadied the innings, adding 64 runs.
Karnataka (First innings): Sujith Somasunder c Dharmani b Harbhajan 58; J Arun Kumar c Mongia b Bhushan 10; Girish Rao lbw Harbajan 13; Rahul Dravid c Mongia b H Singh 38; Vijay R Bharadwaj c Mehra b Harbajan 19; Fazal Khaleel c Rathore b H Singh 35; Sunil Joshi run out 29; Anil Kumble batting 25; Somashekar Shiraguppi batting 4. Extras: (nb11, b16, lb10) 37. Total: (for sevenwickets in 90 overs) 268.
Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-89, 3-96, 4-118, 5-196, 6-197, 7-261.Bowling: Harvinder 14-4-44-2, Bhushan 11-1-43-1, Kapoor 19-4-48-0, Vij 22-4-66-0, Harbajan 24-10-41-3.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
