R Vinay Kumar was like a bowling machine, and it was not only because of the perfect line that he stuck to through the day.
R Vinay Kumar was like a bowling machine, and it was not only because of the perfect line that he stuck to through the day. The 25-year-old was also tireless, his two spells accounting for well over a third of the overs sent down by Karnataka on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match against Delhi.
The reward for his commendable effort was a career-best analysis of eight for 32 and the benefit for his team was reaching within sight of a first innings lead on a greenish pitch that helped the seam bowlers early on. Delhi were bowled out for 154 and Karnataka were 91 for two at close, with KB Pawan (40) and Rahul Dravid (33) the two not out batsmen.
Once skipper Dravid elected to field, the Delhi batsmen were left hopping against the Karnataka bowlers, primarily Vinay, who moved the ball away most of the time but also managed to slip in the odd one.
The early wicket of opener Aakash Chopra added a spring to his step and Vinay set Gaurav Chhabra up for an important breakthrough after a 10-over lull. Vinay was hit for a four through covers by Chhabra, but as the batsman shaped for what he was expecting to be a repeat out-swinger, was stunned by one that came in sharply to the sound of rattling timber.
Scorecard:
Delhi (1st innings): Aakash Chopra c Dravid b Vijay 6, Shikhar Dhawan c Pandey b Mithun 26, Gaurav Chhabra b Vinay 6, Abhishek Sharma c Naidu b Vinay 0, Rajat Bhatia c Dravid b Joshi 7, Mayank Tehlan c Akhil b Vinay 28, Yogesh Nagar lbw b Vinay 13, Puneet Bisht 31 n.o, Sumit Narwal b Vinay 0, Parviner Awana b Vinay 17, Pawan Suyal b Vinay 4; Extras: (B10 LB3 NB2 W1) 16; Total: (all out; 54.4 ovs) 154; Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-39, 3-39, 4-54, 5-61, 6-92, 7-106, 8-106, 9-140; Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 21.4-11-32-8, A Mithun 12-1-47-1, S Arvind 13-5-30-0, Sunil Joshi 7-1-32-1, B Akhil 1-1-0-0.
Karnataka: 1st innings: KB Pawan (batting) 40, Gautam lbw b Narwal 2, Amit Verma c Dhawan b Suyal 12, Rahul Dravid (batting) 33; Extras: (B4) 4, Total: (for two wickets; in 30 ovs) 91; Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-20; Bowling: Sumit Narwal 9-1-27-1, Parvinder Awana 6-0-30-0, Pawan Suyal 8-2-18-1, Rajat Bhatia 6-3-7-0, Abhishek Sharma 1-0-5-0.
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