NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Karnataka lose quick wickets

Ranji champions Karnataka were 65 for two against Rest of India in the Irani Trophy cricket match, on a rain curtailed opening day at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore today.

Only 28 overs could be bowled because of wet conditions caused by heavy overnight showers. Play, which started at 1400 hrs, was halted at 1633 hrs following an appeal for bad light. The umpires then called off play for the day at 1720 hrs as the light did not improve.

At stumps, opener J Arun Kumar, on 23, and V S Thilak Naidu, on four, were at the crease.

After being put in to bat by Rest of India skipper Nayan Mongia, under rather cloudy conditions, Karnataka lost opener Sujith Somasundar (21) and A Vijay (8), medium pacer Harvinder Singh Sodhi claiming both the wickets, conceding 27 runs. Though it threatened to pour thereafter, play continued till bad light stopped the proceedings.

Harvinder Singh drew first blood in the first over after tea after Nayan Mongia changed his end. The gangling medium pacer had Sujith Somasundar brilliantly taken by Nilesh Kulkarni in the gully for 21, which included four boundaries.

Sujith Somasundar was playing aggressively and was tackling the medium pacers well. However, he slashed one outside the off-stump only to find the tall Kulkarni dving full length to his left to take a superb catch. Karnataka were on 29.

A Vijay, who replaced Sujith Somasundar, was never comfortable as Harvinder continued to test the Karnataka batsman with deliveries outside the off-stump. Somasundar was lucky when on five, as Shiv Sundar Das of Orissa failed to latch on to a difficult diving catch at point off the bowling of Harvinder, with his individual score being just five and side's total 41 for one.

The batsman did not last long. He added just three runs to his score before being adjudged leg before to Harvinder when the total was 52.

Thilak Naidu and Arun Kumar ensured that there were no further losses. Arun Kumar, who returned after playing in the English county, played a patient knock and hit three boundaries in his 78-ball tenure at the crease.

Mongia tried four bowlers, including left arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni for one over but could not make further headway.

Scoreboard
Karnataka (1st innings): Sujith Somasundar c Nilesh Kulkarni b H S Sodhi 21
J Arun Kumar batting 23
A Vijay lbw H S Sodhi 8
V S Thilak Naidu batting 04
Extras (lb-3, nb-6): 9
Total (for 2 wickets): 65
Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-52
Bowling: Sodhi 12-1-27-2; Kumaran 8-4-23-0; Kulkarni 1-1-00-0; Ssodhi 7-2-12-0.

UNI