Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa have made winning starts to their campaign for the South Zone limited overs championship.

Defending champions Karnataka, who squared up against Kerala in a match at the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, inflicted a 157-run thrashing on the visitors. Karnataka skipper J Arun Kumar and his opening partner Barrington Rowland got their team off to a flyer after Kerala captain Sunil Oasis won the toss and opted to bowl.

Arun Kumar was the first to fall after having made 58 of the 99 runs that were up on the board at the time of his dismissal. Though next man Vijay Bhardwaj (8) failed, Rowland found an able ally in stumper Thilak Naidu. Naidu, who is in a rich vein of form, and Rowland put on 141 runs for the third wicket in just 21 overs to put their team in a commanding position as the end overs approached.

Naidu made 77 off 70 balls with nine fours and one six by the time he became spinner Sreekumar Nair's second victim. Rowland, for his part, pushed on to notch his maiden one-day hundred, reaching 109 off 131 balls before being run out. With B Akhil (22) and Sunil Joshi (26) also coming to the party, Karnataka reached a daunting 345-5 in 50 overs. Kerala were never in the hunt from there on; Ajay Kudva's 64 and Sreekumar Nair's 60 only serving to reduce their margin of defeat. For Karnataka, veteran medium-pacer Venkatesh Prasad claimed 3-17 while Joshi ended up with 2-29.

In another match at the Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodayar Sports Centre, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu registered an easy six-wicket win over Hyderabad.

The Hyderabadi batsmen struggled after Tamil Nadu captain S Suresh put them in on winning the toss. By the 14th over, they were 49-3, teenage sensation Ambati Rayadu among the men dismissed. Opener Arjun Yadav (47) and D Vinay Kumar (54) then mounted a slow recovery but with the batsmen, who followed them failing to make substantial scores, Hyderabad were restricted to 205 all out in 49 overs. For Tamil Nadu, new-ball bowler G Vignesh claimed three wickets.

When opener Sadagoppan Ramesh was dismissed for one in the first over, it seemed like the match might turn out to be more closely fought than expected. But the prolific S Sriram put paid to such thoughts, dominating the opposing bowling on his way to a masterful century. With another left-hander Hemang Badani making an unbeaten 35, Tamil Nadu, then, cantered to an easy win.

In the third and final South Zone Ranji ODI at the Wheel and Axle Plant Ground, Bangalore, the Goan batsmen guided their team to an emphatic 119-run win over Andhra.

After opting to bat, Goa were well-served by opener SM Asnodkar (73), A Amonkar (50) and MD Phadke (79). The contributions of the trio helped their team pile on a healthy 284/6 in their 50 overs. Spinner Shadab Jakati (3-25) and Saiyed Khalid (3-23), then, bowled brilliantly to skittle Andhra out for 165 in 41.4 overs. Goa, like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, were rewarded with five points for their massive win.

Maharashtra upset Mumbai

Two of the top teams in the country Mumbai and Baroda suffered narrow defeats at the hands of Maharashtra and Saurashtra in the two West Zone league matches played on Friday.

Opener Niranjan Godbole, who made 93 after Maharashtra were asked to bat by Mumbai skipper Paras Mhambrey, and all-rounder Ranjit Khiris were the heroes of their team's six-run win at the Deccan Gymkhana Ground, Pune. Godbole scored his runs off 116 deliveries while Khirid and Abhijit Kale chipped in with 48 and 38 respectively as Maharashtra reached 236-6 in their 50 overs.

When Mumbai replied, Khirid snared both the openers by the ninth over to ensure that Maharashtra were in with a fighting chance. Nishit Shetty, who made 62 off 49 balls, though, ensured that Mumbai had their noses in front as long as he was around. But Shetty's run out in the 25th over and some tight bowling from S Trigune (6-2-23-1) helped Maharasthra seal a memorable win by the slenderest of margins.

Baroda, meanwhile, lost a low-scoring thriller at the Nehru Stadium, Pune despite a lion-hearted performance from medium-pacer Rakesh Patel. Patel claimed 6-33 in 10 probing overs, but the failure of the rest of the Baroda bowlers meant that Saurashtra sneaked past Baroda's total of 208.

Middle-order bat Tushar Arothe's 56 and PN Gurubaxani's 43 had provided the backbone of that innings. For Saurashtra, new-ball bowler Jolly Jobanputra snared three wickets for 36.

When Saurashtra replied, they were in strife at 35-4 in the ninth over. But Feroz Bambhaniya (58 off 96) and Rakesh Dhurv (58 off 58) helped them weather Patel's scorching spell and gain a two-wicket win. Saurashtra gained four points from the match, the same as Maharashtra had from their encounter against Mumbai.

Punjab thrash Services

With skipper Dinesh Mongia leading from the front, Punjab went on to overpower Services in a North Zone one-dayer at Nehru Stadium, Gurgaon on Friday.

Batting first, Services struggled to reach 133 in 38.1 overs. Middle-order bat Yashpal Singh (57) was the only batsman to put up a fight against a spirited Punjab bowling attack, led by Sandeep Sanwal (4-14 in 6.2 overs).

Chasing a modest target, Punjab were soon on their way; Mongia (81 off 77 balls) ensuring that victory was sealed with plenty to spare. Punjab earned five points for the win.

At the Maharaja Agarsingh Stadium, Rohtak, a buoyant Haryana dismissed Delhi's challenge, sealing a comfortable seven-wicket win. With Haryana's bowlers in rousing form, Delhi found the going tough after choosing to bat. Their prolific opening duo of Akash Chopra (21) and Gautam Gambhir (20) were cooling their heels in the hut in just the 13th over. It was all downhill for their team from then on with Sunil Vaid (50* off 69) forced to play a lone hand. Vaid's efforts ensured that Delhi at least reached 171 all out in 48.2 overs. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who claimed 3-33, was the pick of the bowlers for Haryana.

With opener Chetan Sharma (64) and No 3 Parender Sharama (38) putting on 98 for the third wicket, Haryana then coasted to a seven-wicket win. The hosts were rewarded with five points (one bonus) for their efforts.

In the only other match in the North Zone league, Jammu and Kashmir beat Himachal Pradesh by 12 runs at the Nahar Singh Stadium, Faridabad. Captain Vijay Sharma, who made 32 and claimed three Himchal Pradesh wickets, was the man who gained his team four points from the encounter.

Sharma's effort along with a 36 from M Shafi helped Jammu and Kashmir post 159 all out after being put in. Medium-pacer Amit Thakur was the wrecker-in-chief for Himachal Pradesh.

His splendid effort, though, was undermined by the Himachal batsmen, who went down like ninepins. But Aashish Kapoor (57) and Ajay Mannu (32*) put on 79 for the seventh wicket to ensure that their side got to within twelve runs of victory.

© CricInfo