Karun Nair marked his return to form with a brilliant unbeaten 174, guiding Karnataka to a commanding position against Goa on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match. The day was disrupted by rain but Karun’s fluent batting ensured that Karnataka ended on top.
Having been left out of the national Test squad after a disappointing series in England, Karun Nair seemed determined to prove his worth. Resuming at an overnight score of 222 for five, Karnataka went on to post 371 in their first innings, thanks largely to Karun’s patient and classy innings that came off 267 balls. Starting the day at 86, he reached his 25th first-class century with solid stroke play and calm temperament.
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Support came from the lower order, with Vysakh Vijayakumar contributing a useful 31 runs, helping the team cross the 350-run mark. For Goa, pacers Arjun Tendulkar and Vasuki Koushik, who previously played for Karnataka, claimed three wickets each.
When rain halted play, Goa was 28 for one, trailing by 343 runs heading into the third day.
In another Group B match at Rajkot, Madhya Pradesh opener Yash Dubey held his side together with a composed unbeaten 109 off 236 balls against Saurashtra. Despite losing two wickets late in the day, Madhya Pradesh reached 195 for four at stumps.
Earlier, the home team, which resumed its innings at 258 for eight, was bowled out quickly for 260 in the first session. Aryan Pandey and Kumar Kartikeya were the chief destroyers for Madhya Pradesh, sharing eight wickets equally between them.
Yash Dubey and Harsh Gawli provided a solid start with an 87-run opening stand before Harsh Gawli fell to veteran pacer Jaidev Unadkat. Yash Dubey then added 64 runs for the second wicket with Himanshu Mantri to take MP past 150. However, a flurry of wickets — including those of Himanshu Mantri, captain Shubham Sharma and Harpreet Singh, allowed Saurashtra to fight back by the end of the day.
Both the matches now head into the third day finely poised, with the spotlight on whether Karun Nair and Yash Dubey can continue to steer their teams toward victory.
