Irani Trophy: Karnataka ride on Binny's unbeaten century to take command over Rest of India

Bangalore: Allrounder Sturat Binny stamped his class by hitting a sparkling unbeaten century as Karnataka took firm grip of the Irani Trophy match against Rest of India (ROI) with a 189-run first innings lead here today.

Binny stole the show with his 107-ball 115 not out as Karnataka reached a comfortable 390 for five at the close of second day's play. Chidambaram Gautam was giving him company at the other end on six when the stumps were drawn.

Karun Nair (92) and Ganesh Satish (84) were the other notable contributors as they plundered useful runs to enable Karnataka take an upper hand.

With Ganesh losing his wicket soon after tea, Binny along with Nair added 187 runs for the fifth wicket to almost bat the visiting side out of the match on a greenish Chinnaswamy strip.

Looking in great touch, Binny smashed 14 boundaries and three sixes during his unbeaten knock. The Karnataka allrounder reached his century in style, smashing the ball to deep square-leg for a couple off Pankaj Singh.

Nair played the perfect foil as he scored valuable runs in their match-turning partnership that helped Karnataka get past the RoI first innings total of 201.

Besides technique and temperament, Nair's innings had its fair share of flair. He was flawless and played a calculated innings. While Binny was all aggression as he attacked every RoI bowlers including Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra and Ashoke Dinda.

Nair, who was castled by Pankaj, missed his hundred by just eight runs, which could have been his fourth succession ton. He blasted 12 fours during his 161-ball knock.