Karnataka gain two points from drawn match against Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 20 (UNI) Karnataka garnered two points, thanks to their 138-run first innings lead over the hosts, along with some useful batting practice as the toothlessness of the Delhi attack was exposed in the drawn Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match here today.

Apart from bereaved Viraat Kohli's 90 and rookie stumper Puneet Bisht's ton, Delhi had little to show in the match which was dominated by the visitors right from the beginning.

On the final day when bad light played spoilsport and play was suspended thrice, Karnataka were 242 for six in their second essay, with three of their top five batsmen scoring half centuries.

In the entire match, such was the plight of the Delhi attack that their main strike bowler Ashish Nehra bowled just four overs in the second innings, that too yesterday, and was reportedly ''preserved'' for the away matches.

Delhi captain Mithun Manhas invited all his teammates to roll their arms and only Kuunal Lall, down with side strain, and Puneet Bisht, being the stumper, didn't bowl.

With no result in sight, Karnataka decided to have some batting practice and Robin Uthappa (63), Yere Goud (56) and Tilak Naidu (67) feasted on the feeble Delhi attack.

Uthappa and Tilak Naidu had struck contrasting centuries in the first innings, while Yere Goud, who missed on the run-fest, decided to compensate today with a typically gritty half century.

Delhi, meanwhile, replaced injured Kuunal with Ashish Malhotra for their next two Group A away matches against Andhra Pradesh and Saurashtra.

Later, host captain Manhas was upset with the show and said, ''Some of the umpiring decisions went against us as well.'' Manhas also rued that Viraat Kohli, who lost his father on penultimate day of the match and yet went on to score 90, fell just 10-run short of a ton, which could have been a befitting homage to the youngster's deceased father.

Scoreboard: Karnataka 1st innings: 446 all out Delhi 1st innings: 308 all out Karnataka 2nd innings (Overnight 32 for 1) Robin Uthappa c Kohli b Bhatia 63 Bharat Chipli c Bisht b Sharma 30 Chandrasekhar Raghu run out 2 Yere Goud not out 56 Tilak Naidu run out 67 Sunil Joshi not out 7 B Akhil c&b nanda 0 Extras (B-4, LB-4, NB-4) 12 Total (For 6 wickets in 85 overs) 242 Fall of wickets: 1/32 2/95 3/98 4/111 5/228 6/228 Bowling: Ashish Nehra 4-1-4-0 Ishant Sharma 9-1-24-1 Rajat Bhatia 16-6-37-2 Chetanya Nanda 24-6-71-1 Mithun Manhas 7-2-21-0 Aakash Chopra 16-3-49-0 Shikhar Dhawan 6-3-8-0 Viraat Kohli 2-0-15-0 Mayank Tehlan 1-0-5-0 UNI AY PDS VV1718