Openers Yadav, Sharma battle for pride

UP were 204 for three when the rains cried halt to the day8217;s play.

Karnataka, overnight 600 for six, lost skipper Rahul Dravid who was run out in only the third over of the day.

Dravid 215: 511 minutes, 344 balls, 26215;4, 2215;6 cut paceman Ubaid Kamal to point and set off for a single. But Mohammed Saif made an excellent diving stop and hurled the ball to the wicket-keeper. Non-striker Somashekar Shiraguppi simply panicked in a tight situation and went back to the safety of his crease creaseleaving Dravid high and dry in the centre of the pitch. With the wicket-keeper Manoj Mudgal fumbling with the gathering, Dravid dived to get back into his crease, but in vain.

Doddanarasiah Ganesh played a couple of shots before yet another short-pitched ball saw him being snared on the fine-leg fence. Shiraguppi, who made 31, became Kamal8217;s third victim of the day. Karnataka declared their innings 45 minutes into the day8217;s play.

Initially, the Karnataka manager B Raghunath claimed that Srinath was being rested, but when queried how the umpires permitted a substitute for the rest, the manager said he would confirm later in the day.

At the end of the day8217;s play, Raghunath said Srinath 8220;had a slight stomach upset.8221;

Without Srinath around, Ganesh too bowled listlessly. The other new ball bowler Arunkumar was ill-equipped and presently Somasundar took over as the third seamer.

UP openers Rakesh Sharma and Jyothi Yadav batted with all seriousness. The duo added 140 runs for the first wicket beforebeing separated 90 minutes after lunch when Sharma flicked Sunil Joshi uppishly to be caught at short-mid-wicket for 65 195m, 169b, 5215;4.

Midway through the innings, the home team wicket-keeper, Shiraguppi was hit below the eye by a Joshi delivery that ricochetted off the left-hander Jyothi Yadav8217;s front pad. The injury was bad enough to warrant Somasundar rather than Dravid to take over as wicket-keeper. UP opener Jyothi Yadav, who once again played a neat little innings, was dismissed by part-time off-spinner Vijay Bharadwaj while Rizwan Shamshad8217;s horrendous form continued when after making just one he was pouched in the slip off Joshi. Shaurabh Shukla 45 and skipper Gyanendra Pandey 8 were at the crease when the rains intervened and halted further play.

Scoreboard

Uttar Pradesh 1st innings 134.

Karnataka 1st innings: Somasundar c Shukla b Shamshad 68, J Arunkumar c Mudgal b Zaidi 104, Fazal Khaleel b Zaidi 31, Rahul Dravid run out 215, Vijay R Bharadwaj c Pandey bKamal 122, Sunil Joshi c Shamshad b Kamal 2, D S Ananth c Mudgal b Pandey 14, Somashekar Shiraguppi c Shamshad b Kamal 31, Ganesh c Rakesh Sharma b Kamal 3, Anand Katti not out 4; Extras b6, lb7, nb10 23.

Total for 9 declared in 875 minutes in 211.3 overs 617.

Fall of wickets: 1-135 Somasundar, 2-210 Arun Kumar, 3-221 Fazal, 4-478 Vijay, 5-490 Joshi, 6-542 Ananth, 7-606 Dravid, 8-610 Ganesh, 9-617 Shiraguppi.

Bowling: Ubaid Kamal 45.3-15-99-4, AW Zaidi 39-0-158-2, Gyanendra Pandey 56-17-116-1, M Saif 20-6-61-0, Rizwan Shamshad 26-2-89-1, Jyothi Yadav 4-0-10-0, Saurabh Shukla 15-0-51-0, Rahul Sapru 6-0-20-0.

Uttar Pradesh 2nd innings: Rakesh Sharma c Dravid b Joshi 65, Jyothi Yadav c Joshi b Bharadwaj 73, Saurabh Shukla batting 45, Shamshad c Bharadwaj b Joshi 1, Pandey batting 8; Extras b6, lb5, nb1 12.

Total for 3 wickets in 77.5 overs, 286 mins 204.

Fall of wickets: 1-140 Shukla, 2-167 Jyothi, 3-168 Shamshad.

Bowling: Ganesh 10-0-42-0, Arunkumar4-1-8-0, Somasundar 2-1-5-0, Joshi 26-7-60-2, Katti 16.5-5-26-0, DS Ananth 9-3-28-0, Vijay Bharadwaj 10-1-24-1.