Karnataka make strong point

Show theyre the team to beat after reducing Mumbai to 354/8 and all but secure first-innings lead

Mumbais ambition of overhauling,for the second time in as many games,a 500-plus score to take the first-innings lead came undone on Saturday. Their top batsmen,with the exception of all-rounder Abhishek Nayar,fell to a combination of poor shots that were necessitated by a simple but effective game plan adopted by Karnataka.

Nayar retired hurt on 137 after soreness in his wrist made it difficult for him to bat freely. His 215-ball knock contained 18 fours. However,unlike in the previous game against Rajasthan,one in which Nayar hit a double hundred,there was no strong supporting cast from among the other batsmen.

Strategy works

Credit must go to Karnatakas strategy of packing the off-side and bowling outside the off-stump,which frustrated the Mumbai batsmen and forced them to make mistakes. On the wicket at the Brabourne,which didnt have a great deal in it for the bowlers,the Karnataka captains simple strategy foxed the Mumbai line-up. Suryakumar Yadav,21,paid the price for his impatience. Medium-pacer Stuart Binny had packed the off side and was tempting Yadav to pierce the field. Yadav left five successive deliveries,pitched outside the off-stump,but on the next occasion drove the ball straight to Amit Verma in the covers.

Wasim Jaffer had reposed great faith in opener Ajinkya Rahane,released by the Indian team management on the request of the MCA,on the eve of the game.

Overnight on 23,Rahane added just another run to his score on Saturday. After playing two overs with ease,Rahane fell to a loose stroke off Vinay Kumar.

Rahane wasnt the only batsman guilty of executing a rash stroke and it reflected in their score at stumps 354/8. They need another 132 runs to avoid the follow-on. Rohit Sharma played copybook strokes on way to a half-century before dragging a bouncer from medium-pacer Abhimanyu Mithun onto his stumps.

Binny and Kumar picked up three wickets each in a dominant day for the Karnataka bowlers.

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This game was billed as a battle between the strong Mumbai batting line-up and the Karnataka bowlers. While Mumbais top-order failed to make an impact,the lower-order,famed for their gutsy fightbacks,didnt get their act together. Ramesh Powar and Iqbal Abdulla got starts while Dhawal Kulkarni and Agarkar,who has scored a century in Tests,didnt put the Karnataka bowlers under any sort of pressure.

Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said: Three of our batsmen threw away their wickets. On this pitch,bowlers will get wickets only if batsmen make mistakes.

Brief scores:Karnataka 635 for 9 decl. Mumbai 354 for 8 Abhishek Nayar retired 137,Rohit Sharma 64; Vinay Kumar 3/79,A Mithun 2/79,S Binny 3/27