Jagran correspondent, Kolkata. Sudeep Kumar Gharami of Bengal, who won the match by playing a tremendous inning of 299 runs in the quarterfinal match against Andhra Pradesh, is also playing the role of savior in the semi-final against Jammu and Kashmir. Thanks to his brilliant century (136 unbeaten), Bengal has scored 249 runs after losing five wickets at the end of the first day's play at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani.
Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, supporting Sudeep, played short but useful innings of 49 runs and Shahbaz Ahmed played 42 runs. At one time Bengal had lost three wickets for 89 runs. Sudeep batted very restrainedly and handled the innings. He faced 227 balls and hit 19 fours and one six. For Jammu and Kashmir, Aaqib Nabi Dar and Sunil Kumar took two wickets each on the first day.
Uttarakhand performed brilliantly in the current season of Ranji Trophy and secured a place in the semi-finals for the first time by defeating the big teams, but in the knockout match, its bowlers did not fare well in front of the century strikes of star Indian batsman KL Rahul (141) and captain Devdutt Padikkal (148 not out).
In the first semi-final of the tournament at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, Rahul and Padikkal not only put Karnataka in a very strong position by making a record partnership of 278 runs for the second wicket, but also made Uttarakhand yearn for a wicket on the first day. By the end of the day's play on Sunday, Karnataka had scored 355 runs at the loss of just two wickets. Along with Padikkal, Karun Nair is at the crease at the other end adding 37 runs. If both these batsmen play till lunch on Monday, then the path of comeback in the important match may be difficult for Uttarakhand.
Rahul's second consecutive century
Before this, Uttarakhand captain Kunal Chandela won the toss and decided to field first. Chandela failed to recognize the black clay pitch. Karnataka, who came to bat first, got a big blow in the form of Mayank Agarwal (05) on the score of just 18 runs, but after this, KL Rahul strengthened the team by making a record partnership for the second wicket with captain Devdutt Padikkal.
Rahul, who scored a brilliant century against Mumbai in the quarter-finals, was seen in full form against Uttarakhand also. KL, who was the captain of Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, took full advantage of his experience of the Ekana pitch and after playing patiently in the morning session, Rahul adopted an aggressive approach in the second session and completed his century in 153 balls. The right-handed batsman faced 211 balls and hit 11 fours and five sixes in his explosive innings before getting out. He was caught out on the ball of AD Rawat. This is the 25th century of his first-class career.
He has scored more than 8,880 runs in his 119th match at an average of over 44, which includes 41 half-centuries and 25 centuries. In this important match, Rahul got good support from captain Devdutt Padikkal. Padikkal has so far faced 236 balls in his brilliant innings and has hit 16 fours and two sixes. This is his 13th century in his first-class career. At the same time, film actor Sunil Shetty along with son Ahan Shetty reached Ekana Stadium to enjoy the innings of his son-in-law. Sunil and Ahan were seen dancing after Rahul completed his century.
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