Ranji Trophy semi-finals: Rahul, Padikkal's ton puts Karnataka into strong position against Uttarakhand at stumps (Day 1)

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 15 (ANI): India's star batters KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal slammed outstanding centuries for Karnataka on the opening day of 1st Semi Final against Uttarakhand in Lucknow on Sunday.

Rahul made a majestic 141 off 211 balls, including 11 fours and five sixes, before getting out while Padikkal remained unbeaten on 148 at stumps alongside Karun Nair to help his side reach 355-2.

After being asked to bat first, Rahul, along with Mayank Agarwal, started cautiously against the new ball. However, in the ninth over, Aditya Rawat dismissed Agarwal for just five runs.

Rahul then forged a massive 278-run stand with Padikkal, and both batters notched up centuries to put Karnataka firmly in control. Rawat was the only bowler among the wickets for Uttarakhand as he removed both Mayank and Rahul.

Uttarakhand sealed their spot in the last four with an innings-and-six-run victory over Jharkhand in Jamshedpur, while Karnataka notched up a four-wicket victory over Mumbai.

In the second semi-final at Kalyani, Sudip Kumar Gharami followed his career-best 299 with an unbeaten 136, rescuing Bengal for the second straight game against Jammu and Kashmir on day one. Coming in during the second over, he lifted Bengal from 89/3 to 249/5 by stumps.

Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran missed a half-century, falling for 49 to Auqib Nabi, while Sudip Chatterjee and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal both went for ducks. Shahbaz Ahmed chipped in with a solid 42 before Sunil Kumar dismissed him.

Speedsters Auqib Nabi and Sunil Kumar were among the wickets for Jammu and Kashmir as both the seamers took two wickets each, while Vanshaj Sharma only chipped in with a wicket. (ANI)

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