A patient knock from Aneeshwar Gautam (100, 201b, 5x4, 2x6) put Karnataka in a strong position against Tripura on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Elite ‘B’ encounter at the SDNR Wadiyar Stadium here on Wednesday.

Aneeshwar, playing only his second Ranji Trophy match, helped Karnataka reach 490 for nine declared, securing a 296-run first-innings lead.

However, Karnataka’s hopes of running riot with the ball were dashed as the visiting batters held their own on a placid pitch. Tripura batted with assurance for 38 overs to reach 98 for three, leaving Karnataka with plenty of work to do in its bid for a maiden win of the season.

In the morning session, Aneeshwar and a fluent Manvanth Kumar (51, 75b, 6x4, 2x6) put on a 85-run eighth-wicket stand. After Manvanth was trapped in front by spinner Sandip Sarkar, number ten Ritesh Bhatkal (74 n.o., 100b, 11x4, 1x6) displayed the qualities of a top-order batter in a stroke-filled innings.

Aneeshwar, meanwhile, relied on patience and stout defence. The tall southpaw leaned well forward to blunt the spinners and tapped the pacers around for singles.

The 23-year-old was content to grind his way through the nineties before eventually bringing up his century with a single to square leg.

The celebration — helmet off, bat raised in the air — was a long time coming. The 23-year-old was first called up to the senior Karnataka squad after being a part of the title-winning India under-19 squad at the 2022 ICC U19 men’s World Cup, but it has taken four years to earn a cap.

In the intervening years, Aneeshwar scored runs aplenty for the State in the C.K. Nayudu under-23 Trophy. “I’ve waited a long time for this moment. I played three years of C.K. Nayudu Trophy, and led the team for two years. It has been a hard toil,” Aneeshwar said.

The desire to play in the premier domestic competition kept him going. “Waking up every day, I thought about coming back and playing in the Ranji Trophy. Now that my time has come, I’m grateful,” Aneeshwar said.

The scores: Tripura — 1st innings: 194.

Karnataka — 1st innings: Rohan Patil lbw b Abhijit 72, Mayank Agarwal c Paul b Abhijit 1, V. Vyshak c Sentu b Sandip 12, K.V. Aneesh c Sandip b Sultan 68, Karun Nair lbw b Sandip 63, Aneeshwar Gautam c Sentu b Sultan 100, Shreyas Gopal b Sultan 19, K.L. Shrijith c Bikramkumar b Abhijit 13, Manvanth Kumar lbw b Sandip 51, Ritesh Bhatkal (not out) 74, Shikhar Shetty (not out) 1; Extras (b-5, lb-8, nb-2, w-1): 16; Total (for nine wkts. decl. in 144 overs): 490.

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-36, 3-118, 4-223, 5-225, 6-265, 7-285, 8-370, 9-477.

Tripura bowling: Murasingh 25-5-91-0, Abhijit 24-3-95-3, Bikramjit 14-2-50-0, Sandip 46-5-147-3, Sultan 35-2-94-3.

Tripura — 2nd innings: Bikramkumar Das c Mayank b Shreyas 26, Hrituraj Roy c Rohan b Shreyas 13, Babul Dey lbw b Shreyas 28, Sridam Paul (batting) 30, Parvez Sultan (batting) 0; Extras (lb-1): 1; Total (for three wkts. in 38 overs): 98.

Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-46, 3-96.