Ranji Trophy: Mayank Agarwal knock helps Karnataka start well against Haryana; Rahul disappoints

Karnataka’s hopes of gaining a bonus point victory hangs in the balance on the first day of its Elite ‘C’ Ranji Trophy match against Haryana at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.

The home team, which needs seven points to qualify to the knockout round, was unable to put on a dominant display with the bat. There were handy contributions aplenty, but the absence of big knocks kept the score to 267 for five.

Captain Mayank Agarwal (91, 149b, 8×4, 3×6) sparkled at the top of the order. K.L. Rahul, playing his first Ranji Trophy match in five years, could only manage a scrappy 26.

Rahul began his stint with a thick edge to the third man boundary, before surviving a shocker. Batting on 9, he neatly guided a delivery to slip. The catcher grassed the low chance, allowing Rahul to stay on.

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The right-handed batter was unable to capitalise, nicking an outswinger from Anshul Kamboj to the wicketkeeper.

Mayank and K.V. Aneesh (17, 67b, 2×4) did a fine job seeing off the new ball. The tricky morning session was handled with patience and a straight bat. Once Aneesh departed, Mayank opened up. He danced down the track to spinners Nishant Sindhu and Jayant Yadav, lofting them over cover for maximums.

He moved into the nineties with a commanding drive on the up to pacer Anuj Thakral. Inexplicably, Mayank slashed hard in the very next delivery to offer a catch to deep point. A distraught Mayank failed in his attempt to up the tempo.

Devdutt Padikkal (43) was fluent and graceful, until he was trapped on the pads by Thakral. R. Smaran (35), who scored a double century in the previous match, was plumb in front having missed a skiddy turner from Sindhu.