Ritesh Bhatkal and Shikhar Shetty take all 10 as Karnataka dominate on opening day in Guwahati
On Monday at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, in the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B encounter, Karnataka spinners Ritesh Bhatkal and Shikhar Shetty shared all 10 wickets as they bowled Assam out for 135 and Karnataka reached 180 for two.
Assam won the toss and elected to bat, and Karnataka began with pace and an aggressive field — including short-leg and deep-fine — before captain Shreyas Gopal introduced spin early. The surface had a green tinge initially but proved dry and grippy beneath, which Ritesh and Shikhar exploited after being brought into the attack from the seventh over.
Denish Das (26, 72b) and Sibsankar Roy (37, 66b) were Assam’s principal resistors, putting together a 63-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Sibsankar the more aggressive of the two. Sibsankar fell to Ritesh, and Ritesh completed his five-for in the first over of the second session by removing Denish.
Ritesh Bhatkal finished with five for 35 and Shikhar Shetty took five for 53; Shikhar’s haul was his third five-wicket performance this season as he cleaned up the tail in rapid succession. The pair accounted for every Assam wicket between them.
Karnataka’s reply was powered by an opening stand of 129 between Rohan Patil and Mayank Agarwal, with Rohan scoring 89 (87b, 13x4, 1x6) and Mayank 57 (batting, 95b, 7x4). Rohan fell short of a maiden first-class century when Sibsankar held a stunning reflex catch at first slip off Amlanjyoti Das.
Score details — Assam 1st innings: Nibir Deka c Karun b Ritesh 12, Pradyun Saikia b Ritesh 13, Sumit Ghadigaonkar lbw b Shikhar 1, Denish Das b Ritesh 26, Sibsankar Roy b Ritesh 37, Sarupam Purkayastha c Manvanth b Shikhar 13, Amlanjyoti Das c Karun b Shikhar 12, Roshan Alam lbw b Ritesh 7, Mukhtar Hussain c & b Shikhar 0, Mohit Thakur (not out) 0, Hridip Deka b Shikhar 0; Extras (b-12, lb-1): 13; Total (in 48.1 overs): 135. Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-20, 3-30, 4-93, 5-98, 6-121, 7-130, 8-130, 9-130. Karnataka bowling: Kaverappa 3-1-9-0, Manvanth 6-3-15-0, Ritesh 18-4-35-5, Shikhar 17.1-4-53-5, Shreyas 4-0-10-0. Karnataka 1st innings: Rohan Patil c Sibsankar b Amlanjyoti 89, Mayank Agarwal (batting) 57, K.L. Shrijith lbw b Amlanjyoti 19, K.V. Aneesh (batting) 7; Extras (lb-5, nb-3): 8; Total (for two wkts. in 36 overs): 180. Fall of wickets: 1-129, 2-157. Assam bowling: Mukhtar 3-0-20-0, Mohit 8-0-39-0, Amlanjyoti 13-1-51-2, Hridip 3-0-14-0, Sarupam 3-0-19-0, Roshan 6-0-32-0.
Karnataka finished day one at 180 for two in 36 overs, holding a lead of 45 runs.
