Lucknow/Kalyani, Feb 15 (.) Karnataka and Bengal seized the initiative on the opening day of their respective Ranji Trophy semi-finals with dominant batting displays against Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir.
At Lucknow, KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal stitched together a massive 278-run stand for the second wicket as Karnataka piled up 355 for 2 at stumps against Uttarakhand.
Opting to bowl, Uttarakhand made early inroads when 18-year-old Aditya Rawat removed Mayank Agarwal for 5 with the score on 18 in nine overs. The new-ball bowlers extracted movement in the morning, but that was the only bright spot for the fielding side.
Once Rahul and Padikkal settled, they took complete control. Targeting the left-arm spin of Mayank Mishra, the duo lofted confidently down the ground and capitalised on loose bowling, with extras further aiding Karnataka’s recovery.
Rahul brought up his second successive century of the season in composed fashion, flicking part-time off-spinner Avneesh Sudha to fine leg for a single while on 99. Padikkal reached his hundred in style, stepping out to former Karnataka left-arm spinner Jagadeesa Suchith and heaving him over long-on for six.
The pair had added 245 by tea and continued to frustrate Uttarakhand before Rawat finally broke through, having Rahul caught and bowled for 141 off a leading edge just before the final hour. The partnership was Karnataka’s second-highest for the second wicket since 2005-06.
Padikkal remained unbeaten on 148 at close, anchoring the innings. Karun Nair made a brisk start with 29 off 31 balls, including four fours and a six, before slowing down towards stumps. The unbroken 59-run stand between Nair and Padikkal further tightened Karnataka’s grip on the contest.
In the other semifinal at Kalyani, Sudip Kumar Gharami once again proved Bengal’s saviour with an unbeaten 136, guiding his side to 249 for 5 against Jammu & Kashmir.
After the visitors opted to bowl, their pacers Sunil Kumar, Auqib Nabi and Yudhvir Singh generated swing and seam movement to trouble Bengal early. Gharami walked in during the second over and weathered a testing phase, overturning a caught-behind decision and surviving an lbw review before opening his account after 19 balls with a six over cover off Sunil.
He added 85 runs for the second wicket with captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (49) to steady the innings. Nabi struck twice after lunch, removing Easwaran and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal in quick succession to leave Bengal under pressure.
Gharami then combined with Anustup Majumdar for a 66-run fourth-wicket partnership before Abid Mushtaq trapped Majumdar lbw for 14. At 155 for 4, the match hung in the balance, but Gharami found solid support in Shahbaz Ahmed.
The pair added 94 runs for the fifth wicket to wrest back control. Shahbaz made 42 before being adjudged lbw to Sunil in the final over of the day, with a review failing to overturn the decision.
At stumps on day one of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, Karnataka were firmly placed at 355 for 2, while Bengal, at 249 for 5, relied once again on Gharami’s resilience to stay in command.
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