Karnataka opener R. Samarth produced a composed century that highlighted his grooming as a batsman worth investing in as he came up with his fifth first-class hundred at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex here on Thursday.
His hundred, scripted during the 155-run third-wicket partnership with the reliable Karun Nair, saw Karnataka, which elected to bat, finish the opening day at 248 for three against Jharkhand with Samarth (118) and debutant Kaunain Abbas (28) at the crease.
A predictable pitch and a slow outfield created a competitive flair that Samarth and Karun enjoyed thoroughly even though only a handful of spectators witnessed a contest of possible future stars. Samarth has the potential to emerge as one and Karun is on the threshold of creating his own space in the big league.
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Mayank Agarwal drove the ball to mid-off and Robin Uthappa nicked one behind to leave Karnataka wondering if the choice to bat first was wise. Seamer Ashish Kumar dealt the two blows. But, Samarth and Karun brought some old world charm to the proceedings with their disciplined batting.
Delightful footwork was an essential ingredient of their approach in dealing with the bowlers where the spinners — left-arm Shahbaz Nadeem and leggie Samar Quadri — did not quite adapt to the challenge.
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There was negligible turn for the slow bowlers and the batsmen were quick to pick the line and dish out the treatment it deserved.
Samarth, with a defence that matches his aggression, and Karun, adept at treating the ball on merit, enjoyed their outing in the middle even as the Jharkhand bowlers struggled to make an impact.
Runs came in all directions as Karun and Samarth played some delectable strokes — drive being the penchant.
Karun middled the ball well with some excellent timing signifying his innings. At the end of 165 balls, having hit five fours, Karun played down the wrong line to give the hard-working Ashish his third wicket of the day.
The dismissal brought Abbas, a Jain University student from Bengaluru, to the crease. The lanky Abbas lost little time in settling into his role. He defended well and was happy to play the second fiddle to Samarth, who did nothing wrong during his superb unbeaten show of 118 off 276 balls with 10 boundaries.
“I am extremely happy with my effort. The pitch was slightly on the slower side and Karun and I had to build a good partnership.
“We decided to take each session at a time. At the end of the day it feels nice to have scored a century for my team. I am keen to continue performing well,” said Samarth.
The scores:
Karnataka — 1st innings: R. Samarth (batting) 118, Mayank Agarwal c Tiwary b Ashish 15, Robin Uthappa c Kishan b Ashish 2, Karun Nair b Ashish 74, Kaunain Abbas (batting) 28; Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-6): 11; Total (for three wkts. in 90 overs): 248.
Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-32, 3-187.
Jharkhand bowling: Ashish Kumar 20-3-47-3, Varun Aaron 14-0-41-0, Samar Quadri 23-0-63-0, Shahbaz Nadeem 26—3-77-0, Kaushal Singh 7-1-15-0.