Half centuries from Manish Pandey (66) and KB Pawan (52) helped Karnataka make a steady 255 for four on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Uttar Pradesh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. When stumps were drawn on Sunday,a composed Rahul Dravid (37 batting) and night watchman R Vinay Kumar (7 batting) were at the crease. Opting to bat,Karnataka began on a sedate note with Robin Uthappa (32) and K B Pawan producing a 42-run stand for the first wicket. Uthappa was in good nick before being consumed by left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta. Pawan,a prolific run-getter this season,frustrated UP with his dour defence with Ganesh Satish (49). They were in complete command before left-arm medium pacer RP Singh produced two wickets in five balls,having Pawan and Satish caught at the wicket. But Dravid,in imperious form this Ranji season,and Manish Pandey thwarted the UP surge,raising 108 runs for the fourth wicket. Pandey was the dominant partner and his timing was a treat to watch,as he caressed the ball with effortless ease . But when Mohammad Kaif took the second new ball close to the end of first days play,it paid dividend. Pandey,who had taken his seasons aggregate to a whopping 724 runs,slashed a Praveen Kumar delivery for Kaif to complete an overhead catch at the second slip. With national selection committee chairman K Srikkanth and Narendra Hirwani watching the proceedings,the 20-year-old could have done well to play out the last three overs of the day. But,he chose to throw away all the good work he had done through the season. But as long as he lasted,he made Kaif's men fret,bringing back memories of his imperious 194 in the Super League match at Meerut.
