Karnataka pacer Vasuki Koushik went rampant on the opening day of Ranji Trophy 2023-24. Koushik’s seven-wicket haul helped Karnataka bowl out Punjab for 152 within two sessions at KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground.
In the Elite Group C encounter, Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh won the toss and opted to bat first. With the new ball, Koushik struck on the last ball of the fourth over. Prabhsimran Singh edged one to slip fielder Manish Pandey. Three overs later, Naman Dhir edged one to wicketkeeper Srinivas Sharath for a single-digit score.
Opener Abhishek Sharma hit four fours and a six. His stay at the crease was ended by Koushik as well. He got bowled in the 12th over. Mandeep tried to play out the new ball but he ended up edging one to Pandey after scoring just one run from 15 balls. Punjab were reduced to 37/4 in the 16th over.
After Koushik's opening spell, Nehal Wadhera and Gitansh Khera tried to steady the ship. Koushik came back into the attack and dismissed Khera to complete his fifer. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 27 runs from 44 balls including five fours. The two batters shared a 52-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Vijaykumar Vyshak joined the party and dismissed Prerit Dutta for a single-digit score. In the 38th over, Wadhera missed a chance to score a half-century. He became Koushik's sixth victim of the day. He scored 44 runs from 79 balls including seven fours. On the next delivery, Siddharth Kaul was dismissed as well.
Arshdeep Singh came out to bat all guns blazing. He managed to hit a six and then lost his wicket to Vyshak. Rohit Kumar wrapped up the innings with the wicket of tailender Baltej Singh. On the other end, Mayank Markande remained unbeaten for 26 off 44 balls taking the score to 152.
Arshdeep struck early with the new ball. Skipper Mayank Agarwal departed for an eight-ball duck. Ravikumar Samarth and Devdutt Padikkal shared a 76-run stand for the second wicket. Dutta dismissed Samarth who scored 38 runs from 62 balls. Nikin Jose failed to make an impact and got out lbw to Dhir. Padikkal scored quickly. He remained unbeaten for a run-a-ball 80 featuring 14 fours. On the other end, Pandey was unbeaten for 13 off 22 balls. Karnataka managed to post 142/3 on the board before Day 1, Stumps. They trail by just 10 runs.
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