Ranji Trophy 2026/27: Karnataka bundles Tripura out for 194 on Day 1, Shikhar Shetty takes five-for

Karnataka's left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty (left) picked up his third First-Class five-for on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite ‘B’ match against Tripura at the SDNR Wadiyar Stadium in Mysuru. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Karnataka bounced back from a tardy start to bundle Tripura out for 194 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite ‘B’ match at the SDNR Wadiyar Stadium in Mysuru on Monday.

The Karnataka bowlers missed a trick with the new ball to allow Tripura to cruise to 88 for two in the first session, but an improved performance allowed the home team to finish the day on top.

Left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty picked up his third First-Class five-for, while fast bowler Manvanth Kumar came away with three scalps.

Karnataka sprang a surprise by dropping fast bowlers Vidwath Kaverappa and Abhilash Shetty to accommodate spinners Shikhar and Ritesh Bhatkal. “The wicket is quite dry, so we thought we will go with three spinners,” head coach Vinay Kumar said.

On taking the tough decision to leave Kaverappa out, Vinay said, “No individual comes before the team.”

READ | Spinners put Chhattisgarh on top against Andhra after Day 1

V. Vyshak, shouldering a lead role in pace duties, was wayward. With four slips in place, Vyshak repeatedly drifted into the pads, making life easy for openers Bikramkumar Das (51) and Hrituraj Roy (13).

Manvanth was better at keeping it in good areas, resulting in a loose drive and edge from Hrituraj. Bikramkumar looked comfortable, until he fell to a rare magic ball from Vyshak. Rising high from length and moving away, Bikramkumar fended to Karun Nair at second slip.

A few rash shots allowed Karnataka back into the contest. Sridam Paul misjudged a short ball from Shreyas Gopal, while India international Mandeep Singh charged down the track and lofted Shikhar to mid-off.

Tripura's Manisankar Murasingh bowled out by Karnataka's Shikhar Shetty. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR

A couple of overs later, Shikhar fired in a yorker to sneak under captain Manisarkar Murasingh’s bat.

Bikramjit Debnath (33 n.o., 78b, 1x4) and Parvez Sultan (2, 43b) showed fight to last 15 overs. Just before the new ball was due, Sultan tried an expansive sweep which landed in the hands of Manvanth at fine-leg. Shikhar honed in to catch tailenders Sandip Sarkar and Abhijit Sarkar on the pads, hastening a quick end.

With the close of play at hand, Mayank Agarwal jabbed hard at Abhijit Sarkar to offer a catch to second slip.

Scores

Tripura - 1st innings:

Bikramkumar Das c Karun b Vyshak 51, Hrituraj Roy c Shrijith b Manvanth 13, Babul Dey c Shrijith b Manvanth 23, Sridam Paul c Aneesh b Shreyas 7, Mandeep Singh c Manvanth b Shikhar 20, Manisankar Murasingh b Shikhar 25, Sentu Sarkar c Shrijith b Manvanth 12, Bikramjit Debnath (not out) 33, Parvez Sultan c Manvanth b Shikhar 2, Sandip Sarkar lbw b Shikhar 2, Abhijit Shetty lbw b Shikhar 0

Extras (b-1, lb-1, w-1, nb-3): 3; Total (in 82 overs): 194.

Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-74, 3-92, 4-96, 5-140, 6-151, 7-167, 8-190, 9-194.

Karnataka bowling:

Manvanth 13-3-23-3, Vyshak 15-5-29-1, Ritesh 17-3-50-0, Shikhar 18-4-54-5, Shreyas 18-4-34-1, Mayank 1-0-2-0.

Karnataka - 1st innings:

Rohan Patil (batting) 9, Mayank Agarwal c Sridam b Abhijit 1, V. Vyshak (batting) 0