Rahul, Revanth rise to the occasion again, thwart Karnataka’s victory push

After threatening to catch fire more than once, the Andhra versus Karnataka Ranji Trophy clash petered out to a draw at the ACA Stadium in Mulapadu near here on Wednesday.

From an overnight 176 for four, Karnataka lost captain and first-innings centurion R. Smaran for the addition of just six runs to its total and the lead reading a paltry 38.

But Karun Nair held fort (155 n.o., 242b, 16x4, 2x6) to bail Karnataka out, before the away side declared at 337 for nine to set the hosts a challenging 194-run target from 45 overs.

Twice during Andhra’s pursuit, Karnataka was in with a chance – at 18 for two and 53 for four. But both times, the home batters dug their heels in.

In the end, first-innings heroes S.V. Rahul (35 n.o., 85b, 5x4) and Revanth Reddy (20 n.o., 52b, 4x4) shut the contest down by gobbling up more than 18 overs to score 51 runs.

Andhra had to be satisfied with the first-innings lead and three points while Karnataka with the spirit it showed to press for a win and one point.

The star of the day was Karun, who scored his 27th First Class century. For much of the morning, the Andhra spinners in T. Vijay, Lalith Mohan and Saurabh Kumar bowled a stifling line.

But the 34-year-old paddle-swept and reverse-swept his way out, reaching 100 in 157 balls and 150 in 232.