Hyderabad sitting pretty

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE, APRIL 14. Rains which caressed the summer evening was the lone surprise on a mundane day in which Karnataka salvaged some pride thanks to its doughty lower-order. Hyderabad's 711 still looms large but Sunil Joshi (72) and Dodda Ganesh (51 not out) helped the host sneak in an impish grin and avoid the follow-on.

At close on the fourth day, Karnataka had scored 523 for nine in the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday. Rains may have rung in a damp curtain 34 minutes before the scheduled close but there was an adrenaline surge earlier in the day.

Barrington Rowland's (65) attempted steer off left-arm seamer Fiaz Ahmed resulted in a snick and before the ball zeroed onto the turf between the first and second slips, Mohammad Azharuddin effected a left-handed diving catch to help Hyderabad start the day on a positive note.

The hosts were staring at a mid-innings crisis as Thilak Naidu's glide off Fiaz snuggled into Riaz Shaik's gloves. `High-fives' were soon repeated as a Raju-special jumped and spun across the bat to terminate A. Vijay's 40-minute stay.

At the other end, Karnataka's crisis-man, Vijay Bharadwaj (90, 197b, 10 x 4) dug a lone furrow and bolstered his confidence with a cover-driven four off Parth Satwalkar. He fell short of a well- deserved century when Raju tossed one up after lunch and Bharadwaj smashed the ball straight back to the bowler. Karnataka was then at 370 for six.

A follow-on target of 512 seemed distant and the visitors were set to go for the jugular. However, the host's lower-order wrecked Hyderabad's plans and Sunil Joshi, who was nursing a hairline fracture in his right toe, led the charge.

Joshi and B. Akhil chipped in a 51-run seventh-wicket partnership and retrieved the innings. Raju got rid of Akhil but the next man in - Dodda Ganesh, proved to be more obdurate and another partnership took shape.

Joshi made his runner (Mithun Beerala) redundant with some powerful shots. He relished Raju's flighted deliveries and hoisted him past the square-leg and long-off fences. Azhar with hopes of pouching a steepling mishit, positioned himself at long- off and placed his men near the long-on and square-leg fence. Joshi, however, continued to sendn the red cherry packing into the stands.

He was eventually dismissed for 72 (93b, 6 x 4, 4 x 6) when Fiaz rapped him on the pads. His partnership with Ganesh was worth 71 runs.

Ganesh extended the battle and was happy with his singles and twos. A perfect backlift which eased into a scorching straight drive off Fiaz would have made any established batsman proud. That shot helped Ganesh cross his fifty. He had earlier glanced Fiaz to the fine-leg boundary as Karnataka scraped past the follow-on target. The clouds then opened up and provided the needed respite for the players.

Raju and Kanwaljit bowled a restrictive line before Joshi's long- handle fudged their figures. Fiaz posed problems with his away seamers while N.P. Singh and Parth Satwalkar could not do much on a docile pitch.

With the match maintaining its distinct tilt towards Hyderabad, a miracle seems to be the sole hope of Karnataka. But even if the Rain Gods smile and the first innings is not completed, Karnataka will still press the eject button as it has lost more wickets and has a lesser run-rate than Hyderabad.

The scores:

Hyderabad - 1st innings: 711 (for eight wickets decl.)

Karnataka - 1st innings: J. Arun Kumar c Nanda Kishore b Kanwaljit 71, Mithun Beerala c Azharuddin b Kanwaljit 74, Barrington Rowland c Azharuddin b Ahmed 65, Vijay Bharadwaj c & b Raju 90, Thilak Naidu c Shaik b Ahmed 3, A. Vijay c Shaik b Raju 4, B. Akhil c Nanda Kishore b Raju 32, Sunil Joshi lbw Ahmed 72, Dodda Ganesh (batting) 51, Venkatesh Prasad c Azharuddin b Kanwaljit 7, Mansoor Ali Khan (batting) 0. Extras (b-5, lb-12, w- 3, nb-34) 54. Total: (for nine wickets) 523.

Fall of wickets: 1-163, 2-190, 3-302, 4-311, 5-336, 6-370, 7-421, 8-491, 9-508.

Hyderabad bowling: N.P. Singh 19-2-84-0, Fiaz Ahmed 21-1-114-3, Venkatapathy Raju 54-15-127-3, Parth Satwalkar 13-2-38-0, Kanwaljit Singh 43.1-4-127-3, Mohammad Azharuddin 3-0-16-0.

Hyderabad's captain, Mohd. Azharuddin takes a diving catch to dismiss Karnataka's Barrington Rowland, off the bowling of Fiaz Ahmed, in their Ranji Trophy semifinal at Bangalore on Friday.

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