Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Mohit Kale, Arun Karthick keep Pondicherry in hunt for first innings lead against Andhra

Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Mohit Kale, Arun Karthick keep Pondicherry in hunt for first innings lead against Andhra

Gritty half-centuries by Mohit Kale and skipper K.B. Arun Karthick kept Pondicherry in the hunt for the first innings lead against Andhra on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ match at the CAP Siechem stadium here on Friday.

Walking in to bat with the team in a spot of bother at 84 for four, Arun Karthick (54 batting, 95b, 6×4) forged two vital partnerships, first with Mohit (60, 127b, 5×4) and an unbroken one with Aman Khan (37 batting, 48b, 4×4, 1×6) to make sure that the host didn’t fall way behind in pursuit of Andhra’s first innings score of 303.

Earlier, resuming at 245 for seven, the visiting side continued to frustrate the Pondicherry bowlers as K.V. Sasikanth (99 not out, 216b, 11×4, 1×6) added three more boundaries and a six to his score. He, however, agonisingly fell short of a well-deserved hundred as he ran out of partners, as last man A. Lalith Mohan was castled by Ankit Sharma, the best bowler for the home team with four for 71.

Pondicherry got off to the worst possible start and was reduced to 20 for three as left-arm medium-pacer Y. Prithvi Raj bowled with fire.

Mohit joined forces with Paras Ratnaparkhe (39, 76b, 6×4) to steady the ship before the latter fell against the run of play to Prithvi Raj. This brought the home side captain to the middle and he brought a sense of calm to the proceedings while making sure the runs also came.

The lanky Aman and the skipper ensured that there were no further alarms for Pondicherry, still 94 runs behind in the first innings.