Karnataka shot out for 85, Vadodara 128/4

Vadodara, Nov 23 (UNI) Losing the toss did not prove to be a bad omen for Vadodara skipper Jacob Martin as his speedsters -- Rakesh Patel (5 for 35) and Irfan Pathan Sr (3 for 31) - destroyed Karnataka for a paltry 85 in their first innings on the opening day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite group ''A'' match being played at the Matibaug Palace ground here today.

At close, Vadodara were sitting pretty scoring 128 for four, having established a first innings lead of 43 runs with skipper Martin on 28 and Ketan Panchal on 25 at the crease.

Utilising the morning dew and the bouncy track effectively, Rakesh and Irfan wrecked the Karnataka batting line-up as Karnataka skipper Roland Barrington, who was asked to lead the side at the last moment in place of Yere Goud, opted to bat first. Goud, who was named captain of the Karnataka Ranji team for its first two league matches against Vadodara and Haryana, was dropped from the team last night after BCCI declared that he was not eligible to play for Karnataka for not submitting his papers in time.

After both the Karnataka openers -- Robin Uthappa (12) and Barrington (7) - were sent back to the pavillion, being adjudged lbw off the bowling of Rakesh, none of the Karnataka batsmen could put up any resistance to the Vadodara pace attack and were shot out for 85 in the 40th over, 30 minutes after lunch.

All-rounder C Raghu top scored with 21 off 51 balls with four boundaries. The visitors, who were in a precarious situation at lunch scoring 68 for 8, lasted for seven overs in the post-lunch session as Vadodara left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar scalped the remaining two wickets to return an impressive figure of 4.1-1-6-2.

Vadodara, too, lost their openers -- Connor Williams (3) and Rishikesh Parab (17) with only 24 runs on the board. But a fine 64-run parnership between one down Ajit Bhoite (48, 62b, 11x4) and skipper Martin for the third wicket, helped the hosts recover from the initial hiccups.

For Karnataka, medium pacers -- N C Aiyappa and B Akhil, shared the bowling honour claiming two wickets each by giving away 46 and 17 runs respectively.

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