Rajasthan make promising start

Riding on fine half centuries by opener Manish Sharma (68), Robin Bisht (62 batting) and Rohit Jalani (60 batting), Rajasthan made a promising start by scoring 266 for four against Karnataka on the opening day of the Elite Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match in Mysore on Saturday.

With the pitch at Gangotri Glades proving to be batsman-friendly, the young squad kept the Karnataka bowlers at bay as debutant Manish and his opening partner Vinith Saxena (42) posted 120 after Rajasthan skipper Mohammed Aslam, who won the toss and elected to bat.

Consolidating on a good foundation, middle-order batsman Robin and Rohit added a fruitful 107 runs for the fifth wicket to take Rajasthan to a position of strength, despite three wickets falling in quick succession.

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Veteran left arm spinner Sunil Joshi was the most successful bowler for Karnataka with figures of two for 61.

Manish and Vinith, who began on a cautious note, provided a perfect start for the visitors adding 120 runs in 30.5 overs before Joshi struck, trapping the former leg before. Two more wickets fell in at the same score of 126, but Robin who was joined by Rajesh Bishnoi (11) took the score to 159 before Rajesh fell to off spinner C Raghu.

Robin then took the Rajasthan team to safety in the company of Rohit.

It was a good turnaround for Rajasthan which had drawn a blank after losing all the three matches they have played so far.

Rajasthan first innings:
Manish Sharma lbw b Sunil Joshi 68
Vinth Saxena c Uthappa b Aiyappa 42
Nikhil Doru b Sunil Joshi 4
Robin Bisht batting 62
Rajesh Bishnol c Shinde b C Raghu 11
Rohit Jalani batting 60
Extras (lb16, b3) 19
Total (four wickets in 94 overs) 266

Fall of wickets: 1/120, 2/126. 3/126, 4/159

Bowling: Vinyakumar 20-8-64-0, N C Aiyappa 14-4-35-1, B Akhil 09-4-18-0, Sunil Joshi 30-8-61-2, K P Appanna 18-3-54-0, C Raghu 03-0-15-1