KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal put on a 278-run stand against Uttarakhand on day one of the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy semi-final.
KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal hit Ranji Trophy semi-final centuries
Aditya Rawat removed Mayank Agarwal in the ninth over after Uttarakhand captain Kunal Chandela won the toss and opted to field. However, Rahul and Padikkal – heroes of famous chases in Karnataka’s last two games – assumed control, and did not depart until the final session.
Appointed captain during the season, Padikkal smashed 120 not out in 85 balls to help Karnataka chase 250 in 28 overs against Punjab and qualify for the quarter-finals. There, Karnataka became 119-3 in pursuit of 325, but Rahul (130) helped them beat Mumbai by four wickets.
in the semi-final, Rahul and Padikkal (141) got together at 18-1 but were not separated until 296, a mere 19 short of Karnataka’s all-time second-wicket stand. At the time of writing, Karnataka were 342-2 with Padikkal (140) and Karun Nair (32) at the crease.
Highest second-wicket partnerships for Karnataka in Ranji Trophy
| Stand | Batters | Opposition | Venue | Season |
| 297 | MR Srinivasaprasad, Gundappa Viswanath | Kerala | Trivandrum | 1984/85 |
| 284 | Kolar Pawan, Ganesh Satish | Maharashtra | Pune | 2009/10 |
| 278 | KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal | Uttarakhand | Lucknow | 2025/26 |
| 250 | Sujith Somasundar, Vijay Bharadwaj | Tamil Nadu | Bhadravati | 1995/96 |
Note: Karnataka’s highest partnership for any wicket is still the famous unbroken 451 between Sanjay Desai and Roger Binny, against Kerala at Chikmagalur in 1977/78. It remains one of eight instances of a team winning a first-class match without losing a wicket.
1st Semi-Final, Uttarakhand vs Karnataka
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Highest second-wicket partnerships against Uttarakhand in Ranji Trophy
| Stand | Batters | Team | Venue | Season |
| 304 | SR Ramaswamy, Wasim Jaffer | Vidarbha | Nagpur | 2018/19 |
| 278 | KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal | Uttarakhand | Lucknow | 2025/26 |
