Mohammed Siraj, the Hyderabad fast bowler, celebrated his India call-up with a four-wicket haul to bundle Karnataka out for 183 in their Group A clash in Shimoga. In reply, Hyderabad, who took the field for the first time this season after rains washed out two successive fixtures at home, were wobbling at 51 for 3, courtesy K Gowtham's double-strike late in the day.
Karnataka's decision to bat first backfired as they lost three wickets, including Test regular KL Rahul, inside the first half hour. Karun Nair hung around to make 23 and stitched together a 40-run stand with Stuart Binny, who top-scored with an 88-ball 61, to briefly stem the rut. Siraj was complemented well by left-arm pacer Ravi Kiran, who finished with 3 for 36, while Pragan Ojha, in his first game for Hyderabad after two seasons in Bengal, took two wickets.
Ankit Bawne continued his good form from the India A series to rack up his 17th first-class century as Maharashtra ended the day at a dominant 274 for 4 against Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. He found support from opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rohit Motwani, who struck 63 and 67 not out respectively, as Maharashtra recovered from a slightly shaky 150 for 4.
Bawne, who struck an unbeaten 162 for India A in his previous first-class innings against New Zealand A, hit 12 fours and a six in his 107 not out. His knock helped stem the damage caused by pacer Saurabh Kumar, who picked three of the four wickets to fall. The unbroken fifth-wicket stand between Bawne and Motwani now stands at 124.
Fast bowlers Deepak Bansal and Amit Mishra picked up three wickets apiece as Railways had Assam tottering at 216 for 8 at stumps in Guwahati. Four Assam batsmen crossed 20, with the highest being Tarjinder Singh's 43.
Railways justified their decision to bowl first by reducing the hosts to 78 for 5 shortly after lunch. But they were to be denied towards the end of the day courtesy tome lower-order resistance. Pritam Das and Dhiraj Goswami added an unbroken 40 for the ninth wicket to help cross the 200-run mark. Anureet Singh, Railways' pace spearhead, picked up two wickets.
