CHENNAI: Karnataka bowlers rose to the occasion to reduce Tamil Nadu to 129 for 7 after Devdutt Padikkal’s superb 151 to take the visitor to a commanding position at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Saturday.
Southpaw Padikkal, who continued his red-hot form, scored 151 off 218 balls with the help of 12 boundaries and six maximums, his third Ranji Trophy hundred this season, but failed to add on to his overnight score after being dismissed in the second ball of the day.
Resuming at the overnight score of 288 for 5, Hardik Raj (51) completed his maiden first-class fifty, while wicketkeeper Srinivas Sharath made 45 off 83 balls with the last five Karnataka batters adding just 78 runs to be bowled out for 366 in 119.4 overs. But the Karnataka bowlers equally responded to their batting colleagues, picking up wickets at regular intervals to reduce their southern opponent to 129 for seven in 56 overs.
Off-spinner L Shashi Kumar (3/41) picked up three wickets, while Hardik (2/47) chipped in with two scalps. Vidwath Kaverappa (1/12) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (1/19) also shared the spoils between them.
Narayan Jagadeesan (40 off 56), Baba Indrajith (35 not out) and Vimal Khumar (14) were the only double-digit contributors for Tamil Nadu.
At the close of play, Tamil Nadu still trails Karnataka by 237 runs.
BRIEF SCORES: Karnataka 366 in 119.4 overs (D Padikkal 151, R Samarth 57, H Raj 51, S Sharath 45, A Ram 4/75, Sai Kishore 3/102) vs Tamil Nadu 129/7 in 56 overs (N Jagadeesan 40, S Kumar 3/41)