Saxena misses ton but Rajasthan escape with draw

Udaipur: Vineet Saxena (99) missed out on his century by just one run but his knock helped Rajasthan earn a draw result against Karnataka, which got three points from their Ranji Trophy Super League match on the basis of their first innings lead.

Trailing by a huge margin of 317 runs, the reigning champions needed its top order to fire and it did happen as Saxena, Vaibhav Deshpande (52) and skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (45) all stayed at the crease for at least two hours each. Resuming at 51 for no loss, Rajasthan ended the day at 317 for seven. They had scored just 255 in their first essay while responding to Karnataka`s mammoth 623 for six declared. Saxena added 105 for the first wicket with fellow opener Deshpande and then another 200 for the second wicket with skipper Kanitkar as the hosts frustrated Karnataka bowlers. It was young left-arm spinner KB Apanna who removed both Deshpande and Kanitkar. The third-wicket stand between Saxena and Ashok Menaria (27) was building up well but Abhimanyu Mithun had the former caught behind to deny him a well-deserved century. Robin Bisht (20) and Rohit Jhalani (28) also batted well in the lower order to ensure that the hosts survive the day. Brief Scores: Karnataka: 623/6 declared Rajasthan: 255 & 317/7 in 117 overs (V Saxena 99, V Deshpande 52; KB Apanna 2/100, S Aravind 2/56). PTI