Ranji Trophy: Tons from Manish Pandey, Siddharth put Karnataka in command vs Railways

Chennai, Feb 17: Skipper Manish Pandey's blistering 156 and K V Siddharth's unbeaten 140 helped Karnataka score an imposing 392 for 5 at stumps on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group C match against Railways here on Thursday.

Sent in to bat, Karnataka saw India Test batter Mayank Agarwal fall early when he was run out for 16. The talented left-hander Devdutt Padikkal looked to be settling down before falling to Yuvraj for 21.

One-drop batter R Samarth (47) and Siddharth (140 batting off 221 balls) added 60 runs before the former was dismissed by Avinash Yadav. The Railways bowlers did not know what hit them as Siddharth and Pandey went on the rampage.

The experienced Pandey, in particular, was severe on the opposition bowlers, hitting 12 fours and 10 sixes during his 121-ball innings. He hammered three sixes in one over off Avinash Yadav. In fact, he reached his ton with a six off pacer Amit Mishra.

The 267-run partnership between Pandey and Siddharth from 283 balls piled the pressure on the Railways bowlers. From 106 for 2 in 34 overs, the Karnataka batters raised the tempo with the captain toying with the opposition bowling.

The final session of the day saw Karnataka rack up 140 runs before the Railways bowlers stemmed the flow by sending back Pandey and Sharath before stumps. Pandey, who was batting on 76 at tea, went after the bowling and moved to 156 and looked good for a mammoth score.

However, spinner Shivam Chaudhary (2 for 22) got the prize wicket of the opposition captain, having him caught by Yuvraj. The right-handed Siddharth was batting on 140 at stumps and will hold the key to Karnataka swelling its total further on the second day. Shreyas Gopal (1 batting) is the other not-out batsman. Siddharth played a superb knock, which was overshadowed by Pandey's all-out attack.

Like his skipper, he too reached his century with a six, off left-arm spinner Avinash. He has so far hit 17 fours and two sixes. In the other match in the group, domestic veteran Paras Dogra made a workman-like ton as Pondicherry reached 309 for 6 at stumps against Jammu and Kashmir for whom new pace sensation Umran Mallik picked up 3 for 79.

Brief Scores:

Karnataka: 392 for five in 90 overs (Manish Pandey 156, R Samarth 47, K V Siddharth 140 batting) vs Railways.

Pondicherry: 309 for six in 90 overs (Paras Dogra 108, S Karthik 63, Fabid Ahmed 32 batting; Umran Malik 3/79) vs Jammu & Kashmir.