KV Aneesh and Aneeshwar Gautam guided Karnataka to 496/5 on Tuesday during their Ranji Trophy match against Assam at the ACA Stadium. Aneesh hit his maiden First-Class century, finishing the day unbeaten on 142. Aneeshwar also played a key role, scoring 83 runs to help the team past 490.
After the spinners spun a web around Assam's batters on Day 1, Karnataka's two 'Aneeshs'- KV Aneesh and Aneeshwar Gautam, stole the limelight on Day 2 in the Ranji Trophy match at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Aneesh's maiden First-Class century (142 not out off 248 balls) and Aneeshwar's 83 off 125 balls guided Karnataka from its overnight score of 180/2 to 496/5 at Stumps.
Overnight batters Mayank Agarwal and Aneesh negotiated Mohit Thakur's spin from one end and Mukhtar Hussain's pace from the other without much trouble in what was a fairly lukewarm morning of play.
Aneesh tapped and glanced for singles while Mayank occasionally turned aggressor, especially against Mohit, who he carted down the ground for four.
The brief lull soon gave away to respite for Assam, with Mayank falling for 72 in the 43rd over thanks to a rash shot.
Karun Nair was troubled aplenty early on with the host exploiting his off-stump line weaknesses. Mukhtar consistently flirted with the fourth stump line on the good length. However, Karun was handed a reprieve on 9 in the 46th over, when wicketkeeper Sumit Ghandigaonkar failed to latch onto a leading edge.
The 34-year-old eventually ran out of luck, trapped leg before Mohit for 21 in the 55th over.
Aneesh was then joined by his almost-namesake Aneeshwar and the game turned. The 25-year-old pulled his way to two sixes over deep midwicket before notching up his half-century with an exquisite cover drive in the 56th over.
Aneeshwar was no less enterprising.
The left-hander was busy at the crease but also composed as he tonked the ball around the dial. He signalled his intent with twin sixes off Roshan Alam in the 59th over, first over cow corner and then straight down the ground.
Post Lunch, conditions leaned a bit more in favour of the spinners, with the odd ball rising up and drifting off the surface. There were few close calls and multiple LBW shouts but Aneesh and Aneeshwar persevered, albeit taking the defensive route.
Aneeshwar brought up his fifty with a crisp backfoot punch through covers. Aneesh had a heart-in-the-mouth moment when he chipped one while batting on 81 but fortunately for him, the umpires ruled the mid-off fielder had grassed the ball. He went on to ring in his fifty in the 92nd over, and after failing to convert three fifty-plus scores this season, finally got to raise his arms to celebrate a ton.
Assam, largely disciplined with its line and length, struck in the first over after Tea sending back Aneeshwar. Manvanth Kumar then showed why his hundred against Saurashtra wasn't a one-off with a quickfire fifty (53 not out off 63 balls).
The all-rounder's audacious strokeplay made batting look easy, a loft on the up over extra cover for six being the highlight.
Assam taking the second new ball in the 101st over did little to stall Karnataka's momentum as it finished the day with one hand on the bonus point.