Kolkata: Karun Nair (148 batting, 261b, 20×4, 1×6) struck an unbeaten century to put former champions Karnataka in a strong position on the second day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha at the Eden Gardens here, Monday. Karnataka were 294 for eight, with a lead of 109 runs, when bad light stopped play.
In the other semifinal, Gautam Gambhir (127, 216b, 21×4) was patience personified while unheralded Kunal Chandela (113, 192b, 18×4, 1×6) showed maturity beyond years as their twin tons took Delhi to a commanding 271 for three against Bengal on the second day at Pune.
Resuming at the overnight 36/3, Nair batted throughout the day. He thwarted an onslaught from young Vidarbha pacer Rajneesh Gurbani (5/90), who returned with his third successive five-wicket haul.
The second Indian to score a triple century in Tests, Nair, found a fine ally in skipper R Vinay Kumar (20 batting) as the duo batted sensibly amid the ruins in an unbroken 69-run ninth wicket partnership that took Karnataka’s lead past 100.
Bowling with a short run-up, South Africa-bound India pacer Umesh Yadav (2/71) gave Vidarbha their first breakthrough at the stroke of lunch ending Nair’s overnight 139-run partnership with CM Gautam (73, 125b, 8×4).
Karnataka looked to go the Vidarbha way in the post-lunch session as Gurbani hit the deck hard and swung the ball to take three wickets – Stuart Binny (four), Shreyas Gopal (seven) and K Gowtham (one) – for 24 runs in his third spell, leaving Karnataka tottering at 198/7. But Nair stood tall to brighten eight-time champion Karnataka’s bid for their third final in five seasons.
Elsewhere at Pune, with Bengal scoring a below par 286 in their first essay, they are sure to concede the first innings lead. The only positive aspect for Bengal was the final session where Delhi scored just 51 runs losing three wickets, including that of Gambhir off the bowling of Mohammed Shami (1/83).
Gambhir was an epitome of calmness during his 42nd first class hundred in the company of Chandela, who is playing only his third first-class match.
The Bengal attack comprising Shami and Ashok Dinda (1/86) looked pedestrian and the manner in which Gambhir-Chandela duo humiliated them was indeed deflating.
The first 25 overs saw Bengal going for 24 boundaries with B Amit (1/47) simply not good enough to be a third seamer.
Brief Scores:
(At Kolkata): Vidarbha 185; Karnataka 294/8 (Karun Nair 148 batting, CM Gautam 73; Rajneesh Gurbani 5/90).
(At Pune): Bengal 286; Delhi 271/3 (Gautam Gambhir 127, Kunal Chandela 113).
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