It was a ball with both bounce and spin, but more importantly, it ended up being the turning point of the day. With two overs to go for lunch, off-spinner Ramesh Powar looped the ball at Rahul Dravid, who while trying to play on the leg-side edged the ball in the hands of Amol Muzumdar at backward short leg. That ended Dravid’s 97-ball stay on the pitch where he scored 40, and also triggered Powar’s wicket-taking spree. On a spin-friendly track Powar finished the day with figures of 29-6-69-5. Karnataka were 189/9 in their opening Ranji Trophy game. If the first session saw the spotlight on Dravid, post-lunch and post-tea it was Powar all the way. At stumps, the last pair of B Akhil (53) and N Aiyappa (1) was at the crease and the prospect of crossing 200 looked bleak. Brief scores: Karnataka 189/9 (R Dravid 40, C Raghu 31, V Naidu 33, B Akhil 53 batting; A Agarkar 2/24, R Powar 5/69) v Mumbai.
