A stroke-filled unbeaten 86 from Manvanth Kumar (124b, 6x4, 5x6) carried Karnataka from a precarious 187 for seven to 281 for eight on day one of its Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra at the Alur Grounds near here on Sunday.

Coming in at No. 9, the 22-year-old southpaw combined for an excellent 87-run partnership with Abhilash Shetty for the unbroken penultimate wicket. Abhilash’s role was no less worthy, as he stonewalled the visiting bowlers for 85 balls to remain unbeaten on six.

Manvanth, who debuted against Andhra last week and scored an important 44 in the second essay, impressed with his audacity. This was best exemplified in the way he hit Saurashtra veteran medium-pacer Jaydev Unadkat for two towering sixes — one down the ground after stepping out and the other clipped over square-leg in majestic fashion.

Left-arm spinner Parth Bhut also bore the brunt as Manvanth, who was part of the victorious Col C.K. Nayudu Trophy u-23 side in March 2024, hoisted him for three maximums. His maiden half-century came from 65 balls, and the hundred is for the taking.

But for the youngster, Karnataka would have been in doldrums. Asked to bat, Shreyas Gopal & Co. lined up with two debutants — opener Rohan Patil and middle-order bat Aneeshwar Gautam.

Neither prospered, but there were some welcome runs for Mayank Agarwal (42, 83b, 4x4, 1x6) and K.V. Aneesh (59, 96b, 8x4). The latter scored a flurry of boundaries square of the wicket, and completed his fifty off 66 deliveries after being on three from 27 at one stage. But a rash pull against pacer Chetan Sakariya led to his downfall.

Karun Nair, fresh from an unbeaten 155 at Mulapadu, came up with another breezy knock (46, 57b, 9x4) but was dismissed when his full-blooded flick was caught brilliantly at short-leg by Hetvik Kotak.

Shreyas was caught at slip while K.L. Shrijith was trapped leg-before on the back foot. But Manvanth ensured that Karnataka would return to the dugout not with its tail between its legs but with a spring in its step.

The scores: Karnataka — 1st innings: Rohan Patil lbw b Unadkat 6, Mayank Agarwal lbw b Unadkat 42, V. Vyshak b Sakariya 1, K.V. Aneesh c Harvik b Sakariya 59, Karun Nair c Kotak b Bhut 46, Aneeshwar Gautam c Harvik b Unadkat 4, K.L. Shrijith lbw b Bhut 21, Shreyas Gopal c Gajjar b Bhut 3, Manvanth Kumar (batting) 86, Abhilash Shetty (batting) 6; Extras (lb-6, w-1): 7; Total (for eight wkts. in 86 overs): 281.

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-13, 3-111, 4-131, 5-140, 6-183, 7-187, 8-194.

Saurashtra bowling: Unadkat 19-3-51-3, Sakariya 18-3-48-2, Panwar 9-2-30-0, Jani 8-0-45-0, Bhut 21-3-73-3, Prerak 9-4-19-0, Gajjar 2-0-9-0.

Toss: Saurashtra.