Karnataka beat Tamil Nadu in shortened encounter

Hosts Tamil Nadu lost their opening match of the P Subbiah Pillay Trophy, Ranji Trophy South Zone One-Dayers against Karnataka by 33 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. After a damp outfield delayed the start of the game by 190 minutes, Tamil Nadu skipper Robin Singh won the toss and put Karnataka in to bat.

The decision turned out to be a good one as Thirunavukarasu Kumaran reduced Karnataka to 0/2 at the end of the first over. A quick yorker got rid of JAK Arunkumar and off the very next ball, the fifth of the innings, stumper Tilak Naidu dragged the ball back onto his stumps. With two batsmen back in the hut and no runs on the board, Mithun Beerala and India One-Day discard Vijay Bharadwaj came together.

Mixing occasional clean hits with some precise running between the wickets, the pair blunted the Tamil Nadu attack. The mediumpacers gave way to the spinners and there was still no respite for Tamil Nadu. Former Test offspinner Aashish Kapoor was welcomed to the attack by sixes over long on from both batsmen. At 101/2, a half hearted shot from Bharadwaj saw him present a simple catch to Sadagoppan Mahesh and Kumaran had his third scalp of the match. Bharadwaj had made 47. In the company of Beerala, he had added 101 runs to the total.

Just 2.4 overs later a very tired Beerala was run out by a good bit of fielding from Robin Singh and it looked like the balance might swing in Tamil Nadu's favour. Beerala's run a ball 53 included three boundaries and the solitary six.

Dodda Ganesh (31) added a late in the innings charge that included two lusty sixes and Karnataka ended their 32 overs on a healthy 171/9. In response, the strong on paper Tamil Nadu batting line up lost its way completely. Barring a promising 24 from Ramesh and a steady 25 from Rajat Bhatia at the top of the order, no one in the top five made it to double figures. The two put on 48 for the second wicket and this turned out to be the largest partnership of the innings. At 77/6 after 21.1 overs there was little hope for the home side. A lively 32 from Sridharan Sharath delayed the inevitable even as Tamil Nadu ended on 138/9 after 32 overs. The hosts play Goa tomorrow and need to get their act together in a hurry.