Karun Nair’s unbeaten 81 puts Karnataka in sight of a Ranji draw

Nair steadies Karnataka after early blows

Karun Nair made an unbeaten 81 to rescue Karnataka from a top-order collapse and keep their hopes of saving their Ranji Trophy season opener against Andhra alive. At stumps, Karnataka were 176/4 in their second innings, leading by 32 runs with the final day to come.

Karnataka began their second innings 144 runs behind after Andhra posted 418. The visitors’ experienced opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul were both dismissed by left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar, leaving Karnataka at 25/2. KV Aneesh followed for six, and the innings stood at 43/3 before Manvanth Kumar joined Nair.

Partnership shifts the pressure

Nair and Manvanth put on 94 for the fourth wicket. Nair counterattacked with two sixes in successive overs and brought up his half-century from 76 balls, while Manvanth contributed 44 before being bowled by Lalith Mohan. Nair then combined with R Smaran, who was 21 not out at the close, to take Karnataka to 176/4 from 60 overs.

Nair finished unbeaten on 81 from 130 deliveries, with eight fours and two sixes. The report noted that the 34-year-old had recently been left out of South Zone’s Duleep Trophy squad and had scored an unbeaten century in the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappaiah Memorial Tournament.

Andhra’s first-innings advantage

Andhra resumed at 331/4 and were bowled out for 418 in 121.5 overs. Teenage debutant Seeram Rahul added 11 to his overnight score before being dismissed for 119 by Ritesh Bhatkal. Venkat Sasikanth made 39 and Saurabh Kumar 24, while Karnataka spinner Shikhar Shetty claimed six wickets after a long spell.

With a narrow lead and six wickets remaining, Karnataka go into the final day needing to protect their position and secure a draw.