Devdutt Padikkal slammed his maiden first-class hundred, an unbeaten 161, as Karnataka ended day one of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Pondicherry here at 293 for 3. Sent in to bat by Pondicherry captain D Rohit, Karnataka were reduced to 39 for 2 in the 19th over, losing opener R Samarth (11) and Karun Nair (6) to Ashith Rajiv (2 for 37). Padikkal did the rescue act and moved to 47 as Karnataka recovered to 88 for 2 at lunch. The big-hitting batter was in full flow in the second session as he and K V Siddharth (85) put the opposition bowlers to the sword.
It was a toil for the Pondicherry bowlers after medium-pacer Ashith Rajiv struck two early blows to remove the consistent Samarth and Nair.
None of the bowlers could make an impression as the stylish Padikkal and Siddharth got going and took the score to 204 for 2 in 61 overs at tea. Padikkal in the meanwhile had reached his maiden first class ton. His knock so far has come off 277 balls, and included 20 fours and two sixes.
He continued to score and stitched a 223-run stand in 357 balls for the third wicket with Siddharth, which put Karnataka in control.
Skipper Manish Pandey, who replaced Siddharth at the crease, is batting on 21 and has so far added 31 runs with the left-handed Padikkal.
In the group’s other match, Jammu & Kashmir were bowled out for 258 against Railways with Qamran Iqbal top-scoring with 83.
For the Railways, captain and leg-spinner Karn Sharma led from the front with 6 for 76.
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Brief scores: Karnataka 293 for three in 90 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 161 batting (277b, 20×4, 2×6), K V Siddharth 85 (168b, 11×4), Manish Pandey 21 batting, Ashith Rajiv two for 37) vs Pondicherry.
Jammu and Kashmir 259 in 87.1 overs (Suryansh Raina 28, Qamran Iqbal 83 (98b, 11×4, 3×6), Abdul Samad 28, Henan Nazir 34, Aquib Nabi 44, Karn Sharma six for 76) vs Railways 0 for no loss in one over. PTI SS PM PM PM
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