Speedsters put Karnataka in control

Bengaluru: Pacemen V Koushik, Vidwath Kaverappa and Vyshak Vijaykumar put Karnataka in control against Tripura on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C fixture in Agartala on Saturday. Koushik (4/34), Kaverappa (2/38) and Vyshak Vijaykumar (2/64) reduced Tripura to 198/9 at stumps, a deficit of 43 runs, after Karnataka were skittled for 241 in the morning.Tripura suffered a poor start as Koushik sent back Bikram Kumar Das with just six runs on the board. The home team’s top order never got going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. In fact, of the top five batters, four of them were out for single-digit scores. When Kaverappa dismissed experienced campaigner Ganesh Satish, a former Karnataka player, Tripura had their backs to the wall at 37/4. It worsened with opener Bishal Ghosh (44) and skipper Wriddhiman Saha (28) back in the hut by the 45th over with the team still four runs shy of the 100-run mark.Bikramjit Debnath (57; 131b,7x4) and Mura Singh (39; 61, 4x4) figured in a crucial seventh-wicket partnership of 76 runs to give Tripura some hope before Koushik scalped the latter.SCOREBOARDKarnataka (I Innings, o/n 241/8): Vyshak b Mura Singh 50, Vidwath (not out) 4, Koushik b Mura Singh 0.Extras (B-2; LB-13). 15Total (all out; 78.4 overs) 241.Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-11, 3-16, 4-103, 5-153, 6-164, 7-164, 8-224, 9-241.Bowling: Mura Singh 19.4-7-35-4, Rana Datta 15-7-32-3, AK Sarkar 14-3-55-2, BB Debnath 13-3-50-1, Parvez Sultan 17-3-54-0.Tripura (I Innings): Bishal Ghosh lbw Koushik 44, Bikram Kumar Das c Sharath b Koushik 4, Sridam Paul lbw Koushik 1, Sudip Chaterjee c Sharath b Vyshak 1, Ganesh Satish c Sharath b Kaverappa 6, Wriddhiman Saha lbw Hardik Raj 28, BB Debnath (batting) 57, MB Mura Singh c Sharath b Koushik 39, Parvez Sultan c Sharath b Kaverappa 0, Rana Dutta c Kishan Bedare b Vyshak 4, AK Sarkar (batting) 5.Extras (LB-2, W-1, NB-6) 9.Total (for 9 wkts; 79 overs) 198.Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-20, 3-26, 4-37, 5-81, 6-96, 7-172, 8-174, 9-183.Bowling: Vidwath Kaverappa 21-8-38-2, Koushik 19-6-34-4, Vyshak Vijaykumar 19-4-64-2, Hardik Raj 12-2-43-1, Shashi Kumar K 8-2-17-0.