Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Rajat Bhatia narrowly misses ton as Rajasthan trail Karnataka by 62 runs at stumps on Day 2

Jaipur: Rajat Bhatia missed out on a century by just one run as Rajasthan reached 219 for seven, still trailing Karnataka’s first innings total by 62 runs, on the second day of a Group A Ranji Trophy match on Saturday. At stumps, Deepak Chahar was batting on 13 and K Ajay Singh was on six. Earlier, resuming on 270 for eight in their first essay, Karnataka could add just another 11 runs to their overnight total, getting all out for 281. Aniket Choudhary finished with best figures of five for 77 for Rajasthan. In reply, Rajasthan were struggling at 48 for four before Bhatia came to the team’s rescue. He played a responsible knock of 99 that came off 171 deliveries and included 14 hits to the fence. Bhatia also put on a crucial 76-run stand with Puneet Yadav (28) for the fifth wicket, followed by another fruitful partnership of 60 runs with Dishant Yagnik (21) for the sixth wicket.  Full updates: Rajasthan vs Karnataka, Ranji Trophy 2015-16 Group A

But at the end, Bhatia got out, falling just one short of a well deserved hundred. R Vinay Kumar (2 for 39) and David Mathias (2 for 41) picked up two wickets each. Karnataka will now look to get a first innings lead on Day Three and bat Rajasthan out of the match when they get a chance. Rajasthan will also desperately want to take a first innings lead and put the visitors under pressure.  READ: Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Five cricketers who have impressed

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Brief scores:

Karnataka: 281 (Mayank Agarwal 66, Ravikumar Samarth 65; Aniket Choudhary 5 for 77) lead Rajasthan: 219 for 7 (Rajat Bhatia 99; R Vinay Kumar 2 for 39, David Mathias 2 for 41) by 62 runs.