Irani Trophy 2013-14: Rest of India rattled by Karnataka seamers

Vinay Kumar and Stuart Binny have been unplayable for most parts of the first session.

 

By CricketCountry staff

 

Feb 9, 2014

 

Rest of India (ROI) have been rattled by the Karnataka seamers on Day One of the Irani Trophy 2013-14 game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. At lunch, ROI have lost half their side for only 62. Dinesh Karthik is the only ROI batsman who has fought the seamers and batted for a considerable period.

 

It was a morning that saw the seamers dominate on a green track at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. If you had a look at the square, you may have been left dumbfounded simply because the green on the wicket was just a shade lighter when compared to the grass around it. Thus, Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar had no hesitation in electing to bowl. They made two changes to their line-up when compared to the side that lifted the Ranji Trophy. HS Sharath replaced Sreenath Aravind and Stuart Binny came in place of Amit Verma. ROI benched Varun Aaron, Natraj Behara, Parvez Rasool and Ankit Bawne.

 

Even before the first ball was bowled, everyone anticipated some help for the seamers, but what followed was utter carnage. Off the very first ball of the innings, Vinay Kumar pitched it in line and trapped Jiwanjot Singh plumb in front. The movement was evident and the batsmen found it very difficult early on. Baba Aparajith didn’t last long as Vinay Kumar moved it into him and trapped him under the knee-roll.

 

In walked the season’s highest run-scorer, Kedar Jadhav. One expected him to play with his natural aggressive intent, but Vinay Kumar ended those hopes as he broke through his defences and hit him on the back-leg. ROI were tottering at 12 for three.

 

It was then that Karthik walked out to bat and had an early life. Vinay pitched it in line and got it to move away as Karthik poked at it. Karnataka were appealing in unison, but the umpire turned it down. Nevertheless, Vinay Kumar bowled unchanged for over an hour for a remarkable spell of 8-3-18-3.

 

Gautam Gambhir and Karthik gradually rebuilt the ROI innings. However, there was always some bite in the wicket and scoring was difficult. Gambhir’s only boundary was a cover-drive, while Karthik was more positive and found the boundary a few times during the session. They took ROI past 50, but then Stuart Binny came into the act.

 

Earlier, Binny found it difficult to adjust his line to the left-hander. But, once he found his rhythm, he did trouble Gambhir. And, he finally had his reward as he trapped Gambhir leg-before for 22. Gambhir moved too far across with the ball coming into him and he couldn’t get his bat down in time. Mandeep Singh was there for a short time before Binny induced an edge and had him caught at third-slip for five.

 

At lunch, ROI have their backs against the wall and need something special to bounce back.

 

Brief scores:

 

Rest of India 71 for 5 (Dinesh Karthik 31*; R Vinay Kumar 3 for 18, Stuart Binny is 2 for 12) vs Karnataka.

 

Catch the Live Scorecard of the Irani Trophy 2013-14 encounter between Karnataka and Rest of India here

 

Catch the Live Blog of the Irani Trophy 2013-14 encounter between Karnataka and Rest of India here

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