<p>Coming into this match, Ajay Mandal was the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season, with 24 wickets from three outings. The left-arm spinner, one would have assumed, would have gone on the attack at least at the beginning, with Karnataka still trailing Chhattisgarh by more than 200 runs.</p>.<p>Strangely, he was defensive from the first ball he bowled. With short fine-leg, deep square leg and a midwicket field in place, Chhattisgarh's intention was clear. Bowl left-arm over, dry up runs, frustrate the batsmen and then force them into mistakes.</p>.<p>The decision, partly, may have been forced by a docile pitch after the Karnataka openers had successfully negotiated the new ball, but embracing a negative tactic so early in the innings spectacularly boomeranged on Chhattisgarh with R Samarth (81, 127b, 11x4) and Mayank Agarwal (102 n.o., 191b, 9x4, 5x6) adopting a counter-attacking strategy.</p>.<p>Having dismissed Chhattisgarh, overnight 267/5, for 311 on the second morning, Karnataka ended the second day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match on a strong note - 202/1 in 64 overs - with skipper Agarwal leading the charge here at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. The hosts would look to quickly wipe the deficit of 109 runs on the third day and push for an outright run.</p>.<p>Chhattisgarh's resistance in the morning lasted just about 20 overs with Vidwath Kaverappa (5/67) adding two more to the overnight tally of three wickets for his maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Not unlike on the opening day when he got Karnataka back in the game with two scalps in one over, the right-arm quick removed Shashank Singh and Mandal off successive deliveries that set the tone for the day for the home team's domination.</p>.<p>V Koushik, who had replaced the injured Ronit More, then got into act polishing off the tail for figures of 4/43 for his career best returns. The pacer is playing his first Ranji match in since January 2020 against Mumbai. </p>.<p>Where Chhattisgarh's approach was excessively defensive, Karnataka's was refreshingly positive. Unlike against Puducherry at the same venue where they went into a shell in the face of run-denying tactics and gifted six wickets to left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, Samarth and Agarwal found ways to render Chhattisgarh's game-plan ineffective. The two employed sweep and reverse sweep to good effect with Agarwal every now and then stepping out of the crease to deposit the ball beyond the ropes.</p>.<p>It was Samarth, who showed an aggressive streak in the post-lunch session while an edgy Agarwal took some time to feel "in". The two had raised a whopping 163 runs (210m, 278b) for the opening stand, when, against the run of play, Samarth offered a return catch to Mandal in what can be termed a soft dismissal.</p>.<p>Well on the cusp of a fourth straight century, Samarth's slow trudge to the pavilion reflected his deep disappointment at throwing away the wicket. The right-hander, however, had done enough to give Karnataka a platform from where they can now realistically hope for a win.</p>.<p>Personally, it was also a satisfying day for Agarwal who finally managed to convert his good start into a season's maiden three-figure score.</p>
<p>Coming into this match, Ajay Mandal was the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season, with 24 wickets from three outings. The left-arm spinner, one would have assumed, would have gone on the attack at least at the beginning, with Karnataka still trailing Chhattisgarh by more than 200 runs.</p>.<p>Strangely, he was defensive from the first ball he bowled. With short fine-leg, deep square leg and a midwicket field in place, Chhattisgarh's intention was clear. Bowl left-arm over, dry up runs, frustrate the batsmen and then force them into mistakes.</p>.<p>The decision, partly, may have been forced by a docile pitch after the Karnataka openers had successfully negotiated the new ball, but embracing a negative tactic so early in the innings spectacularly boomeranged on Chhattisgarh with R Samarth (81, 127b, 11x4) and Mayank Agarwal (102 n.o., 191b, 9x4, 5x6) adopting a counter-attacking strategy.</p>.<p>Having dismissed Chhattisgarh, overnight 267/5, for 311 on the second morning, Karnataka ended the second day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match on a strong note - 202/1 in 64 overs - with skipper Agarwal leading the charge here at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. The hosts would look to quickly wipe the deficit of 109 runs on the third day and push for an outright run.</p>.<p>Chhattisgarh's resistance in the morning lasted just about 20 overs with Vidwath Kaverappa (5/67) adding two more to the overnight tally of three wickets for his maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Not unlike on the opening day when he got Karnataka back in the game with two scalps in one over, the right-arm quick removed Shashank Singh and Mandal off successive deliveries that set the tone for the day for the home team's domination.</p>.<p>V Koushik, who had replaced the injured Ronit More, then got into act polishing off the tail for figures of 4/43 for his career best returns. The pacer is playing his first Ranji match in since January 2020 against Mumbai. </p>.<p>Where Chhattisgarh's approach was excessively defensive, Karnataka's was refreshingly positive. Unlike against Puducherry at the same venue where they went into a shell in the face of run-denying tactics and gifted six wickets to left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, Samarth and Agarwal found ways to render Chhattisgarh's game-plan ineffective. The two employed sweep and reverse sweep to good effect with Agarwal every now and then stepping out of the crease to deposit the ball beyond the ropes.</p>.<p>It was Samarth, who showed an aggressive streak in the post-lunch session while an edgy Agarwal took some time to feel "in". The two had raised a whopping 163 runs (210m, 278b) for the opening stand, when, against the run of play, Samarth offered a return catch to Mandal in what can be termed a soft dismissal.</p>.<p>Well on the cusp of a fourth straight century, Samarth's slow trudge to the pavilion reflected his deep disappointment at throwing away the wicket. The right-hander, however, had done enough to give Karnataka a platform from where they can now realistically hope for a win.</p>.<p>Personally, it was also a satisfying day for Agarwal who finally managed to convert his good start into a season's maiden three-figure score.</p>