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Ponting matches Tendulkar's pace

Ponting v Tendulkar
When Ricky Ponting guided a boundary to third man off Mohammad Aamer and moved to 40, it made him the second man in Test history to score 12,000 runs. Sachin Tendulkar has enough of a lead to suggest that Ponting might never catch his aggregate but there will always be passionate debate about the respective merits of both men. Incredibly, 12,000 runs couldn’t split them on statistical terms. Tendulkar reached the milestone in his 247th Test innings and how many do you think it took Ponting? Yep, 247.Umar Akmal’s no-brainer
The conditions were dark and gloomy. Pakistan just about held the upper hand. They needed batsmen like Umar Akmal to apply themselves and lengthen their stay at the wicket. Instead, from the fifth ball of the morning Umar, in an unpardonable act that should not go unpunished, went for a wild slog, trying to clear Mitchell Johnson over mid-off. It was an easy catch held nicely by Simon Katich, but the Pakistani was spared as the bowler was penalised for a marginal no-ball. It was a no-brainer from Umar, who had thrown his wicket away in the second innings at Lord’s three balls before lunch. Then, as today, he committed the mistake at a critical moment of the match. The Australians did not curse too much as Johnson worked Umar out easily with a neat outswinger that took a thick outside edge, further exposing Umar’s brittle mindset.Malik follows suit
It was becoming contagious, playing headless shots. After the Pakistan middle-order crumbled without any fight, Shoaib Malik was left to marshal the tail. Sadly, instead of taking charge Malik even took a single to give Danish Kaneria the strike once. Then half an hour after lunch Shane Watson pitched on length and all Malik could do was go for a desperate loft, exposing his indecisiveness, and the catch was held by Tim Paine.Up periscope
While several players in Pakistan’s batting line-up won’t want to see the footage of their dismissals, Umar Amin’s was especially replay-worthy. Amin ducked a Hilfenhaus bouncer but forgot to lower his bat along with his body. The ball hit flush on the blade and lobbed out to square leg, where Marcus North took a straightforward catch. Amin hesitated for a moment, seemingly unable to believe what had just happened, before he trudged off.Lunch crunch
The lunches served up to the players at Headingley must be high quality. What else could explain two wickets falling in the first over after lunch on each of the first two days? On the first day, it was Mohammad Aamer who rattled the stumps of Steven Smith and Johnson, and on the second Shane Watson sent back Kamran Akmal, who edged to slip, and Aamer, who was given lbw padding up. Four men in two days who wanted to get back to the buffet in a hurry.Run-out chaos
As with many things relating to Pakistan, the last ball of their innings was surrounded by utter confusion. Mohammad Asif’s leading edge lobbed to mid-off, where Smith ran in to collect on the bounce and threw down the stumps with Danish Kaneria having taken off for a single. Kaneria dived back in an attempt to make his ground, but then scrambled up and attempted an overthrow when the ball ricocheted off the stumps. Rudi Koertzen at the non-striker’s end ducked to avoid a second throw that went to the wicketkeeper in another run-out attempt, and again Kaneria sprawled to make his ground. But in the meantime, Koertzen had called for a replay on the initial throw from Smith and Kaneria had been caught short.

Scotland stun India A in thriller

Scotland 277 for 9 (Berrington 106, Iqbal 67) beat India A 276 for 9 (Rahane 108, Tiwary 79, Goudie 4-46) by one wicket
Scorecard
Richie Berrington’s century helped Scotland shock India A•SNS

Scotland held their nerve against India A to clinch a one-wicket win in the final over in Glasgow. Richie Berrington and Moneeb Iqbal orchestrated a stunning comeback after it seemed all was over for the hosts.Berrington starred with a century, and Iqbal contributed 67 to add 174 for the eighth wicket after their team was tottering at 64 for 7. India still held the edge when Berrington fell with the score on 238 – the target being 277 – but Iqbal received excellent support from No.10 batsman Gordon Goudie, who made an unbeaten 26 and steered his team home in a thrilling final over. Seamers Sudeep Tyagi and Dhawal Kulkarni had caused the bulk of the early damage by bagging three wickets each, but Berrington’s knock, along with assistance from the tail, left the India A attack fumbling. They resorted to tactics like slowing down the game to a crawl, which was later rightly criticised by Scotland’s assistant coach Tony Judd. India A took almost four hours and fifteen minutes to finish their overs, but even that could not save them.”We were extremely disappointed India took so long to get through their overs,” Judd said. “I don’t think I can remember a game going on so long when rain hasn’t been a factor. If a captain had resorted to these tactics in an official ODI he would have been looking at a ban of at least one game. This game had list A status and there is the same onus on teams to get through their overs in a reasonable time.”India had earlier overcome a shaky start to post a formidable target. Their batting centered around a 123-ball 108 from opener Ajinkya Rahane, who, with Manoj Tiwary, added 139 for the fourth wicket. But India lost their way in the last ten overs, adding just 62 and losing six wickets. Goudie, who shared the new ball, grabbed four wickets to restrict India and followed up with a critical innings in Scotland’s chase.

Aravinda de Silva takes over as chief selector

Former Sri Lankan captain Aravinda de Silva has been named chairman of a new four-member national selection committee by sports minister Chandrasiri Bandara Ratnayake on Wednesday.The other members of the committee are Ranjith Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally. All four members have served in the capacity as selectors in previous committees.The new panel replaces the one headed by Ashantha de Mel and also included Don Anurasiri, Vinothen John and Chaminda Mendis. de Mel and Anurasiri have been selectors for the past four years.de Silva, 44, is best remembered for playing the key role in his country winning their only World Cup in 1996 when he scored a century in the final against Australia at Lahore. He was Sri Lanka’s foremost batsman for almost two decades since making his Test debut at Lord’s against England in 1984. He represented Sri Lanka in 93 Tests and 308 ODIs, and was till recently consultant coach to the Sri Lanka Under-19s World Cup team.Fernando, a former wicketkeeper-batsman, played for Sri Lanka in the inaugural World Cup in 1975 and has served in various administrative capacities and managed several national teams. He is currently manager of the Sri Lanka’s A team which is due to tour Australia next month.Silva, a left-hand bat and wicketkeeper played for Sri Lanka in the eighties in eight Tests and 20 ODIs. Asgerally is the only member who has not played for his country but was a prolific opening batsman and wicket-keeper for Bloomfield on the domestic circuit.The new selection committee’s main priority would be to pick a team to win the World Cup which will be hosted by Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in February-March next year. The last occasion Sri Lanka won the World Cup was when it was held in the subcontinent.

Gloucestershire stroll to victory

Scorecard
Gloucestershire needed just half an hour of the final day to wrap up a nine-wicket victory over Leicestershire at Bristol.The visitors’ last-wicket pair of Jacques Du Toit and Matthew Hoggard, whose defiance the previous evening had prolonged the game, were parted with the 12th delivery of the morning, bowled by Anthony Ireland. Hoggard fended at the short ball and wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty took a good low catch diving to his right. Leicestershire were bowled out for 285, having added only three to their overnight total.That left Gloucestershire needing just 12 runs to win. They lost Will Porterfield, lbw on the back foot to give 39-year-old Paul Nixon his maiden first-class wicket in his 22nd season as a player, but reached their target in the fifth over.Hoggard gave the new ball to the unlikely partnership of Nixon and Du Toit, both bowling medium pace. After the former’s unexpected strike, which caused major celebrations among his colleagues, Matt Boyce replaced Du Toit and the winning runs were a boundary to fine leg by Chris Dent off Nixon.Gloucestershire took 23 points from their third successive Championship victory, while Leicestershire had to be content with three. Ireland finished with 4 for 85 in the Leicestershire innings and match figures of 7 for 106. It was a fine effort by the Zimbabwean, called into the side to replace the rested Steve Kirby.There were two wickets each for James Franklin and Jon Lewis, while Gemaal Hussain’s single victim took his tally for the season to 30 in Championship cricket. Du Toit was left unbeaten on 33, having defied the home side for 140 balls and batted for just under three hours.Despite the early finish, it was Gloucestershire’s longest Championship game of the season. Three of the previous four had ended in three days, while their victory over Middlesex at Lord’s was completed 24 minutes into the final day.

Bangalore semis only after stadium is sanitised – police

Bangalore’s ability to host the two IPL semi-finals is in some doubt after the city’s police commissioner said they would give a security clearance for the games, to be held on Wednesday and Thursday, only after the stadium is sanitised.The commissioner, Shankar Bidari, was speaking shortly after police discovered an unexploded device on Sunday morning several metres from the Chinnaswamy Stadium. This follows Saturday’s blast, which left eight people injured, on the periphery of the stadium just before a match at the venue and the recovery of another unexploded device a short distance away.For its part, the IPL has announced enhanced security measures at the venues of the remaining IPL games. “We are talking to police and government officials about security arrangements,” Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said on Sunday. He said two extra layers of security would be added outside the venues for the remaining games. “It will be a little inconvenient for the spectators but we’re leaving no stone unturned, security will be watertight.”The developments, which point to a lapse in security, have raised concerns over both pre-match security procedures and the handling of the match after the blasts. There have also been unconfirmed reports of some overseas players being unwilling to go ahead with game.However, in his post-match comments Anil Kumble, the home team captain, offered a contrary view. “Once we were given the assurance that it was safe to go out and play, we didn’t have any problems at all,” Kumble, captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, said. “I don’t think any of the players had an issue once the authorities concerned gave the all-clear.”The match was delayed by an hour and Kumble was asked if he spoke to his team-mates in the dressing room during the waiting period. “Coming from Bangalore which is my home city, I felt extremely safe,” he replied. “I didn’t have a problem, and that’s what I told the team.”We were warming up when we heard a noise,” Kumble said, recounting the afternoon’s events. “We didn’t think too much about it but we were then told by the officials to be careful. They asked us to leave the ground and get inside the dressing room, and told us that they would let us know when it was okay.”The blast – actually two explosions, in the same place, within minutes of each other – took place about an hour before the game, when fans were streaming in, and forced a delayed start. There was no panic in the stadium – though there was no official announcement of what had happened, spectators were informed through their own sources – but there is some uncertainty in the city and some anger over the way the situation was handled.This was same city where a Champions League match was delayed last year after a junior player living in the stadium clubhouse was suspected of having explosives in his luggage.

Déjà vu for Ponting and Co

Déjà vu 1: Ricky’s run-out record
For the second consecutive innings, Ricky Ponting found himself caught short trying for a quick single with Simon Katich. Unlike in Wellington last week when Katich sold his captain down the river, this time it was purely Ponting’s fault. It also gave Ponting an unwanted world record: he has now been run out 13 times in Tests, passing the previous best of 12 set by Allan Border and Matthew Hayden. The list is dominated by Australians, with Mark Taylor and David Boon also in the top ten. Déjà vu 2: Clarke uses his head
Early in his innings, Michael Clarke tried to duck a Chris Martin bouncer only for the ball to crash into his helmet and lob to slip for an unsuccessful appeal. Clarke had been struck on the helmet by Martin in Wellington, although it didn’t do him much damage on that occasion as he went on from the 19 he had scored to post his best Test innings of 168. This time things didn’t work out so well for Clarke. He was on 9 and required a new helmet before being dismissed for 28. Déjà vu 3: It’s in the numbers
If those cases weren’t enough to show the similarities between the Wellington and Hamilton Tests, consider this: when Phillip Hughes was caught on the first day at the Basin Reserve it left Australia at 25 for 1 and when Shane Watson was caught on the first day at Seddon Park it left Australia at 25 for 1. In Wellington, Marcus North strode to the crease at 176 for 4; here he came in at 172 for 4. In both Tests, Katich has looked good for a century only to fall in the 70s and 80s. Oh, and Ponting won the toss again, taking his tally to eight in a row since the end of the West Indies ODIs.Doug vs the Beige Brigade
After he started with a wicket in the first over of New Zealand’s innings, Doug Bollinger was subjected to some chanting from the local fans. “Dougie’s a w***er,” was the ongoing call when he headed down to fine leg for the second over. It might have bothered some players but Bollinger is not your everyday garden variety sportsman. Instead, he clapped along with the chant, as if he was leading it, and looked almost disappointed when it ended.

Rajasthan underdogs, Mumbai missing West Indians

Match facts

Saturday, March 13
Start time 1500 (0930GMT)Shaun Tait will spearhead Rajasthan’s attack•Getty Images

Big Picture

Rajasthan Royals find themselves in the familiar position of being underdogs, this time against the richest team in the tournament, Mumbai Indians, who are under pressure to deliver after two forgettable seasons. As in the first season, few are giving Shane Warne’s boys much of a chance, especially after their unconventional buys this season: Australian batsman Damien Martyn, who has been out of competitive cricket for more than three years except for some games in the ICL, Hampshire batsman Michael Lumb, who is not a familiar name outside England, and Australian batting allrounder Adam Voges. However, Warne and his team have made a habit of proving the naysayers wrong, with several of their left-field picks (like Goa batsman Swapnil Asnodkar) proving to be successes.Rajasthan are notoriously slow starters – brushed aside by Delhi Daredevils in their opening game in 2008, and sinking to 58 all out against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first game last year. They have a tough first game this season, against a Mumbai team which has one of the strongest Indian contingents in the tournament to complement their big-name foreign signings. Sachin Tendulkar’s side is one of only two teams – the other being Kolkata Knight Riders – who have not reached the semi-finals, an wanted blot that they will strive to wipe out this year.The match will kick off an hour earlier than the usual 4pm start (10.30am GMT) in order to avoid a clash with the hockey World Cup final in Delhi which starts at 6.05pm (12.35pm GMT).

Team talk

Mumbai are missing two star allrounders who should prove be the engine of their middle-order in this campaign, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. They have a couple of injury concerns over another pair of foreign recruits – the out-of-form JP Duminy suffered a split webbing during the one-day series against India, while Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Fernando will miss at least one match with a back strain. That means the four overseas players they are likely to go with are the Sri Lankan pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Lasith Malinga, South African allrounder Ryan McLaren, and Essex allrounder Graham Napier.In Tendulkar, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Abhishek Nayar, they have four Indian players who should play almost all matches. It remains to be seen which of the Indian players they choose to fill the remaining slots.One advantage Rajasthan have is that most of their foreign players are available; three of them should be part of their first-choice XI for most matches – Warne, Graeme Smith and Shaun Tait. With the bowling likely to include Munaf Patel, Siddharth Trivedi and Kamran Khan – besides the offspin of Yusuf Pathan – the fourth overseas player could well be a specialist batsman, perhaps one of Michael Lumb and Damien Martyn.

Previously…

Rajasthan have won a couple of nail-biting games, one in each season: by five wickets off the final ball in 2008, and by two runs in 2009. The other game in 2009 was washed out, while Mumbai thrashed Rajasthan by seven wickets at the DY Patil Stadium in 2008

In the spotlight

Tendulkar v Warne Another chapter of the classic contest between two of the premier cricketers of the past two decades. Tendulkar might have had the better of this duel most of the time, but Warne was the victor the last time the pair met – trapping Tendulkar lbw to trigger Mumbai’s slide towards defeat.Tait v Tendulkar Tait has been scarily quick in the Twenty20s for Australia, but it remains to be seen how he fares on slower, subcontinental tracks. Warne’s tweet asking “Do you think Sachin will open and face Tait. Or drop himself down order and let others take on Tait ?” to fans has added some spice to this contest. It has already provoked plenty of support from the Tendulkar-faithful, forcing Warne to clarify with a placatory tweet, “Why does everyone think I’m saying Sachin scared of Tait. You guys are being too sensitive.. I just asked where he would bat? Open/middle.”Smith v Zaheer Smith can be a brutally effective batsman at the top of the order, but he has had plenty of problems in both Tests and ODIs against Zaheer, who is raring to go after recovering from a muscle strain that kept him out of the one-dayers against South Africa.

Prime numbers

  • Munaf, who has been made Rajasthan’s bowling captain, had a solid 2009 season, bagging 16 wickets in 11 matches.
  • Malinga’s mix of bouncer and yorkers bamboozled batsmen last season – his 20 death overs (final six overs of the innings) went for only 5.80 runs each.
  • One of Rajasthan’s problems last year was that their batsmen didn’t run up big scores – only five half-centuries in the entire tournament

Chatter

“This tournament is about momentum. You have to win games upfront and hopefully we will win tomorrow’s match and all our matches. We’ve been here for a few weeks now. I’m pretty satisfied with our preparations. It has been intensive.”
“He has been the greatest batsman in my 20 years of playing international cricket. He has been the greatest challenge to bowl to and I am hoping to resume that. Particularly out here, they have seen him win most of the times and hit me half way out of the stands, and I wish to put it right tomorrow.”

Dinesh Karthik ton helps South retain edge

West Zone 50 for 0 (Pathak 41*, Khadiwale 8*) and 251 need another 486 runs to beat South Zone 400 and 386 for 9 decl (Dinesh Karthik 150, Gautam 88, Kulkarni 5-58)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Dinesh Karthik became a member of a unique club on the third day•AFP

Dinesh Karthik became only the third batsman to score a century in each innings in a Duleep Trophy final – the others are Lalchand Rajput and Yuvraj Singh – on yet another favourable day for South Zone. Having gained a significant first-innings lead, South, thanks to Karthik and CM Gautam, consolidated their dominant position to set West Zone an intimidating 536 for victory.Not that it was smooth sailing all along. Dhawal Kulkarni found plenty of swing and movement to rattle the South top order, which squandered a solid start delivered by the openers. S Anirudha and KB Pawan fell pray to away going deliveries, failing to curb the temptation to play at them and producing the outside edge. Arun Karthik and Ganesh Satish were clueless against the inswinger, one comprehensively bowled and the other trapped in front. At 71 for 4 – the four wickets had fallen for just 16 – West, despite having conceded a massive first-innings advantage, had reason for optimism but a counter-attack, not unlike his previous knock, from Dinesh Karthik quashed any hopes.Boundaries were easy to find and with a reliable partner in Gautam at the other end, Dinesh Karthik was quick to swing the game back South’s way. His 150, off 162 balls, was laced with 22 boundaries, though he was extremely fortunate. Fresh to the crease, he too, almost, succumbed to Kulkarni’s teasing length, pushing at one to get the outside edge while on zero, but earning a lifeline as Ravindra Jadeja, who would be kind to him again later in the innings, spilled a sitter. The reprieve might well prove decisive in the outcome, for Dinesh Karthik and Gautam went on to add 247 for the fifth wicket, taking the lead close to 500. Both fell off consecutive balls, allowing the bowlers to run through the tail but after much damage had already been inflicted.West had another highlight after Kulkarni’s five-for. When South decided to declare on 386 for 9, they may have hoped to nip out a couple of wickets before the close. But opener Chirag Pathak defied the norm, opting to play the aggressor in only nine overs available to smack seven boundaries in his 27-ball 41. The innings has begun on a positive note, but with two days to go, South will back their bowlers to complete what Dinesh Karthik had set up.

Flower watching Kieswetter's development

England coach Andy Flower has backed Craig Kieswetter, the 22-year-old wicketkeeper batsman, to push for a place in the senior squad having impressed for England Lions during their tour of UAE.Kieswetter qualifies to play for England on Tuesday having appeared for South Africa Under-19s before moving to England four years ago. He has performed well for Somerset in both first-class and limited-overs cricket and has been in fine form for the England Lions during the tour so far, making 31, 40 not out and an unbeaten 77 in wins over Pakistan A and UAE A and has the chance to face the full side on Wednesday.”Craig Kieswetter has had a really good start,” Flower told reporters in Dubai. “He’s got runs in all three of his Lions games so far, so Wednesday is a chance for him to impress. I think he qualifies tomorrow for England and, of course, he’ll be excited about that challenge.””All of the Lions are under consideration and, quite rightly, they’ll be very hungry to press forward their case for selection. I’ve spoken to David Parsons, who is in charge of that group, and it’s been nice to see them play such powerful cricket. It is a good opportunity for them to impress, a good opportunity for them to challenge us so they’ll all be quite excited.”Kieswetter will find it difficult to dislodge Matt Prior from the Test side, but could find an opening in the shorter format, where Prior’s form has been far less prolific. Prior has moved up and down the batting order without impressing in any position, averaging 24.24 from 52 games. If Prior does keep his spot at No. 6, Kieswetter could conceivably play as a specialist batsman, after making 634 runs at 48.76 for Somerset in 50-over cricket and 248 runs in 12 Twenty20 games in 2009.His selection for England would stir some controversy after the inclusion fellow South-African raised players Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen. Geoff Miller, the national selector, admitted in January that England must be ‘careful’ about picking too many South Africans.The Lions will face the senior side on Wednesday with Pietersen eager to re-establish his position as the linchpin of the batting. Having been forced out mid-way through last summer’s Ashes series with an Achilles injury he struggled on his return to the side against South Africa and has now gone 11 months without a Test hundred. Flower, however, feels it won’t be long until Pietersen is delivering again.”He’s very hungry, he had quite a chunk of time out of international cricket and he’s come back hungry,” said Flower. “Things didn’t go perfectly well for him in South Africa but he did make some contributions, especially at the start of the series.”It was a difficult challenge for him to come back from playing no cricket to facing the South African attack on sporty wickets. It was difficult for him. This is an opportunity for him to get some serious time in the middle and for him to start contributing again in his dominant way in England victories.”

Pandey and Pawan drive steady Karnataka

The Chinnaswamy Stadium hasn’t been a venue where bowlers have thrived in the recent past, as the lack of outright results testify – only one in the previous nine first-class matches. In keeping with the trend, Sunday’s pitch also provided little encouragement for the Uttar Pradesh bowlers, as they managed only four wickets and conceded 255.Karnataka’s batting unit had a comfortable day, and if not for a couple of ill-advised shots, the home team would have been in a position of dominance. Each of their specialist batsmen got a start, but no one really capitalised on a slow, benign track; their highest run-getters of the season, Manish Pandey and KB Pawan, crafted contrasting half-centuries but didn’t convert them to centuries.UP have three bowlers with India caps in their line-up, but they rarely tested Karnataka after Mohammad Kaif lost the toss. RP Singh provided the visitors their best passage of play an hour after lunch, scalping two wickets in the space of five deliveries. Pawan and Ganesh Satish were making desultory progress, slowly constructing a second-wicket stand that was sapping UP’s morale, but RP had both batsmen nicking to the wicketkeeper in the 57th over. Pawan chased one going away with the angle from over the wicket, while Satish fended at a delivery jagging in from round the stumps.That double-strike left Karnataka at 138 for 3, but only brought together captain Rahul Dravid and Pandey, who combined for the day’s largest partnership, worth 109 runs. Dravid was his usual steady self, not taking too many risks, content with punishing the loose deliveries served up. Pandey, though, was more expansive after a cautious beginning, driving Praveen Kumar on-the-up through extra cover and then carving the next one, a shorter, wider offering through cover for four more.With the score smoothly mounting, UP decided to set 3-6 fields to contain the batsmen: a leg slip, a short midwicket and a very straight short mid-on were the close-in fielders, backed by a wide mid-on, deep midwicket and fine leg. UP’s bowlers persistently bowled down the leg side to tie down Karnataka, with medium-pacer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar even sending down three leg-side wides. Before tea, the tactic was used only against Pandey, but Dravid was also subjected to it in the final session. Sometimes, it was the off side that was packed with six close fielders, with bowlers angling it across the batsmen from round the wicket.The strategy worked for a while, but it was abandoned after the 84th over when Pandey twice found a way through a gridlock of fielders to the boundary on the off side: first, Parvinder Singh was deftly gilded to the vacant third-man region for four, and then a full, wide ball was crashed through cover for another boundary.Another move from UP to minimise the runs was also thwarted by a flurry of fours from Pandey. Thinking that the new ball would be easier to score off they delayed taking it, preferring the unthreatening dibbly-dobblies of Parvinder and the leg spin of Piyush Chawla. In the 90th over, bowled by Parvinder, Pandey reached his half-century with a cross-batted swipe to midwicket, clubbed the next delivery over mid-on for a one-bounce four and completed a hat-trick of boundaries by top-edging a wide one over point. UP took the new ball in the next over.RP Singh and Bhuvaneshwar bowled four amiable overs with it, during which Pandey and Dravid stretched their partnership beyond hundred. Kaif then decided to replace Bhuvaneshwar with Praveen Kumar, who struck with his first delivery. Pandey exited after looking to muscle a very wide delivery through the off side, only managing to edge it to second slip, where Kaif took a sharp catch.There had been another attempted shot to regret for Karnataka earlier in the morning, when opener Robin Uthappa looked to sweep an overpitched delivery from left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta, only to miss and be plumb lbw. Uthappa and Pawan had no trouble with the bowling till then. Uthappa had moved fluently to 32, and had safely negotiated the potentially troublesome first hour, before his misjudgment ended his stay.Pawan and Satish then took their time in building Karnataka’s score. Pawan dropped anchor while Satish was a bit more adventurous, always keen to use his feet to the spinners. Both of them had their hopes of a big score dashed by RP, but Karnataka still have the rock-solid Dravid at the crease to orchestrate the push towards 400 on the second day.

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