Published: Feb 11, 2014, 12:05 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 11, 2014, 12:05 PM (IST)
Feb 11, 2014
In a session where Karnataka extended their advantage over Rest of India (ROI) in the Irani Cup match, CM Gautam was the star with a brisk century. On Day Two, it was Stuart Binny who stole the show, but once the all-rounder fell early on the third morning, it was Gautam who took charge of proceedings and started attacking the bowlers. Karnataka are on 545 for seven at lunch with Gautam unbeaten on 103.
Binny was bowled by Pankaj Singh early in the day. He tried to defend one that held its line and was beaten through the gate. In came skipper Vinay Kumar and played with his usual attacking intent. But, Gautam was clearly the star, stroking boundaries with ease. He got to his fifty off 84 balls and then just teed off.
A pertinent feature of the innings was the way he reverse swept the spinners. Even though there were times when the fielders were placed behind, he still found a way to beat them to the boundary. He also essayed a few sweeps, making Pankaj run around a touch at the fine-leg boundary.
As lunch neared, he was moving closer to his ton and got there in 134 balls. 1155 runs were scored off 35 overs bowled in the session.
Brief scores:
Rest of India 201 (Dinesh Karthik 91, Amit Mishra 47; R Vinay Kumar 6 for 47, Stuart Binny 3 for 35) trailKarnataka 545 for 7 (Ganesh Satish 84, Karun Nair 92; Stuart Binny 122, CM Gautam 103*; Pankaj Singh 3 for 103) by 344 runs.
