Thiruvananthapuram, 1 Nov

Out of favour India batter Karun Nair staked his claim with an unbeaten 142 to guide Karnataka to 319 for three against Kerala on the opening day of a Group B Ranji Trophy match here on Saturday.

Opting to bat, Karnataka lost openers Aneesh KV (8) and skipper Mayank Agarwal (5) early before Nair and wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith (65 off 110) shared 16 runs for the third wicket to stabilise the innings.

Smaran Ravichandran (88 batting off 143 balls) was giving Nair company at the crease at stumps.

Nair decorated his knock with 14 boundaries and two hits over the fence, while Shrijith smashed 10 fours.

MD Nideesh (1/41), Nedumankuzhy Basil (1/58) and Baba Aparajith (1/65) were the wicket-takers for Kerala.

In another Group B match in New Chandigarh, Punjab rode on skipper Uday Saharan's 100 off 247 balls to reach 215 for five against Goa.

Besides Saharan, wicket-keeper Salil Arora was unbeaten on 51 off 131 deliveries.

Right-arm medium-pacer Deepraj Gaonkar (2/22) picked up two wickets for Goa, while Mohit Redkar (1/41), Vasuki Koushik (1/28) and Arjun Tendulkar (1/58) scalped a wicket each.

In Indore, Madhya Pradesh were 64 for one against Chandigarh at stumps after the rest of the proceedings of the day were called off because of inclement weather.

The other Group B match between Maharashtra and Saurashtra has been washed out due to a wet outfield.

Brief Scores:

At Thiruvananthapuram, Karnataka 319 for 3 in 90 overs (Karun Nair 142 not out, Smaran Ravichandran 88 not out, Krishnan Srijith 65; MD Nidheesh.

1/41) vs Kerala.

At Indore: Madhya Pradesh 64 for 1 in 27 overs)Harsh Gawali 32 not out, Himanshu Mantri 28 not out; Jagjit Singh 1/14) vs Chandigarh..

At New Chandigarh, Punjab 215 for 5 in 87 overs (Uday Saharan 100 not out, Salil Arora 51 not out; Deepraj Goankar 2/22) vs Goa.