Pandey's ton lifts Karnataka

Young Manish Pandey cracked an unbeaten 194 and Rahul Dravid (97) showed he was in great touch before the Sri Lanka series as Karnataka piled up 372 for five against Uttar Pradesh on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match in Meerut on Tuesday.

The highlight of the Karnataka innings was the 273-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Pandey and Dravid.

Opting to bat first, Karnataka were 27 for three barely an hour into the match before Pandey joined hands with skipper Dravid to pull Karnataka out of the pit. Pandey struck 27 boundaries and a six during his 238-ball stay.

Experienced Dravid, giving support to the 20-year-old, hit 15 boundaries during his 185-ball innings but only when he was nearing his century, a quick throw by Ravikant Shukla found him short of the crease.

Karnakata were off to a disastrous start with openers Robin Uthappa (0), KB Pawan (15) and Amit Verma (5) returning to pavilion, leaving the side struggling at 27 for three after 13 overs.

At the draw of stumps, Balachandra Akhil was giving company to Pandey on 17. Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/97) was the most effective among the Uttar Pradesh bowlers. RP Singh and Shalabh Srivastava scalped one wicket each.

Brief scores:
Karnataka: 372 for 5 in 90 overs (Manish Pandey 194 not out, Rahul Dravid 97; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/97).