14 wickets fall on opening day of Ranji final

Mumbai, March 8 (IANS) As many as 14 wickets fell on the first day of the Ranji Trophy final being played between holders Karnataka and Tamil Nadu at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday. Put in to bat, Tamil Nadu were bowled out for a paltry 134 with Karnataka captain and pacer Vinay Kumar picking up 5/34. Tamil Nadu kept losing wickets at regular intervals before being bowled out.

Apart from 35 runs from captain and opener Abhinav Mukund, there were only small contributions from Baba Indrajith (27) and Aswin Crist (21) lower down the order. Abhimanyu Mithun picked up 3/54 while H.S. Sharath and Sreenath Aravind clinched a wicket each.

In reply, Karnataka were tottering at 45/4 at stumps with only Ravikumar Samarth (14) and Mithun (14 not out) reaching double figures. Former India pacer L. Balaji was the pick of the bowlers, scalping 3/10 from his seven overs.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 134 all out (Abhinav Mukund 35; Vinay Kumar 5/34, Abhimanyu Mithun 3/54) vs Karnataka 45/4 (L. Balaji 3/14).