Saurashtra’s status as Karnataka’s bete noire remained unchanged as it walked away with three points in the drawn Ranji Trophy encounter at the Alur Grounds near here on Wednesday.
Courtesy K.V. Aneesh’s second half-century of the match (79, 159b, 5×4, 1×6) and K.L. Shrijith’s second of his First Class career (52, 76b, 5×4), Karnataka declared at 243 for seven (overnight 99 for two), setting Saurashtra a 237-run target from 49 overs.
Jaydev Unadkat’s side did bat until the 42nd over, allowing one-drop Chirag Jani to accumulate 63 unbeaten runs (117b, 7×4, 2×6) and the total to reach 137. But it appeared more like a practice session ahead of its next match against Assam at home. “We didn’t start well. It was not that easy to bat first under cloudy conditions. But it was a good game.”
“The points table says something else but I think we are on track,” Vinay told reporters. Fielding and decision-making by the batters were areas for improvement, he stated, ahead of the Tripura fixture starting on Monday in Mysuru.