A counter-attacking century from wicketkeeper-batsman Thilak Naidu put Karnataka in control of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group 'A' cricket match against Delhi, in Delhi, on Monday.
Naidu's aggressive 122, laced with 21 boundaries and one six, helped Karnataka recover from a middle order collapse and post a strong 446 in the first innings.
Karnataka's new-ball bowlers Vinay Kumar (2-19) and B Akhil (3-21) then took the wind out of Delhi's sail by reducing them to 103 for 5 at close on the second day.
Virat Kohli (40) and Puneet Bisht (28) were at the crease at stumps.
En route to his best score of the season, Naidu along with tail-ender K P Appanna added precious 85 runs for the last wicket, in which the former alone scored 83.
Resuming at 299 for three, Karnataka were reduced to 361 for nine before lunch.
The opening hour clearly belonged to Delhi, as Ashish Nehra (4-171) and Ishant Sharma (4-99) ploughed through the visitors' line-up.
Karnataka, at one stage, looked like having squandered their superb position after they lost six wickets for just 62 runs. However, the lack of depth in Delhi's attack helped Karnataka's last pair to flourish.
Naidu, unfazed by the flurry of wickets at the other end, looked in ominous form during his 123-ball knock. His stroke-play was inspiring, especially those square of the wicket.
Naidu, who reached his century with a sweep shot to the fine leg boundary, was severe on the short-pitched stuff. Once he collect 18 runs from a Nehra over.
Scorecard
Karnataka (1st Innings):
R Barrington b Nehra 4
R Uthappa c Bisht b Nehra 161
B Chipli c Kohli b Nehra 0
C Raghu c Chopra b Bhatia 87
Y Goud run out sub 26
T Naidu c Bisht b Sharma 122
S Binny c Chopra b Sharma 11
S Joshi lbw Sharma 7
B Akhil b Nehra 0
V Kumar b Sharma 3
K P Appanna not out 1
Extras: (nb-12, b-10, lb-2) 24
Total: (all out in 115.1 overs) 446
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-9, 3-209, 4-299, 5-300, 6-321, 7-337, 8-338, 9-361.
Bowling: Ashish Nehra 36-5-171-4, Ishant Sharma 31.1-7-99-4, Kunal Lal 6-0-34-0, C. Nanda 21-5-72-0, Rajat Bhatia 12-6-18-1, Mithun Manhas 9-1-40-0.
Delhi (1st Innings):
A Chopra b Vinay Kumar 0
S Dhawan lbw Akhil 8
M Tehlan lbw Akhil 0
M Manhas lbw Vinay Kumar 4
V Kohli batting 40
R Bhatia c Joshi b Akhil 18
P Bisht batting 28
Extras: (b-5) 5
Total: (for 5 wickets in 47 overs) 103
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-7, 3-14, 4-14, 5-59.
Bowling: Vinay Kumar 10-4-19-2, B. Akhil 11-2-21-3, Stuart Binny 7-3-16-0, Sunil Joshi 13-5-19-0, K P Appanna 4-0-17-0, C Raghu 2-0-6-0.
