Rahul 337 drives Karnataka to 719

KL Rahul became the first Karnataka batsman to crack a triple century in first-class cricket and his 337 steered the side to a mammoth 719 for 9 before they declared on the second day against Uttar Pradesh in Bangalore. Left-arm spinner Abrar Kazi added to UP's woes with an unbeaten 117, his maiden first-class century.

Karnataka began the day at 326 for 4 but the partnership between Rahul and Shreyas Gopal was broken early by Praveen Kumar, who eventually finished with 5 for 88. That was a minor blip for Karnataka as Rahul forged century stands with CM Gautam and Kazi - 105 runs and 225 runs for the sixth and seventh wickets respectively. Left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza ended Rahul's 11-hour stint at the crease during which the batsman hit 47 fours and four sixes.

Karnataka lost a few quick wickets towards the end of the day but that did nothing to dent the impact of their formidable first-innings total. After the day's play, Rahul said that run-scoring had been easier against the spinners and stated that his recent Test hundred in Australia and 89 in his last first-class game against Baroda had stoked his confidence.

"Early on, the pacers were bowling in good areas and it was difficult to score off them, but the wicket was easy to bat on and except in post-lunch session the wicket was two-paced and cracks opened up," Rahul said. "The century which I got in Australia really helped me to gather confidence and carry it forward in the domestic season. Yeah, that really helped me - that makes me happy."

Fifties from Arnab Nandi and Mahesh Rawat helped Railways overcome a shaky start but Bengal fought back through offspinner Saurasish Lahiri, who picked up 4 for 72 to leave the batting side at 219 for 6 at the end of the second day in Kolkata. Railways trail Bengal by 49 runs with four wickets in hand. Lahiri chipped away at Railways' top and middle order, reducing them to 98 for 4 after Nandi's steady 53 had anchored the early part of the innings. Arindam Ghosh and Rawat added 76 runs for the fifth wicket but Bengal fought back again with a couple of quick strikes. Rawat finished the day unbeaten on 56 off 88 deliveries.

An all-round effort from Madhya Pradesh's bowlers left Jammu & Kashmir floundering at 175 for 8 in response to MP's first-innings total of 371. Medium-pacer Puneet Datey, left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma and legspinner Mihir Hirwani picked up two wickets each to give MP a chance at bagging a sizeable first-innings lead. Datey's early wickets had left J&K reeling at 18 for 3 and that score soon became 57 for 5. Aditya Singh's 64 and his partnerships of 72 and 43 with Bandeep Singh and Asif Khan pushed the J&K score past 100 but they were stifled by the loss of wickets. Earlier MP managed to add only 100 runs to their overnight total of 271 for 4. The side had stumbled to 276 for 7 by the fifth over of the morning, and then to 320 for 9 before Datey and Yogesh Rawat added 51 runs for the last wicket. Datey took the lead in the stand and finished unbeaten on 56 off 103 deliveries as MP were bowled out for 371.

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