MYSURU: Exploiting an opponent’s weakness is par for the course in sport. Karnataka were expected to do just that against Tripura, but have missed a trick or two. After letting the visitors off the hook on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match at the SDNRW Ground here, the hosts failed to make the most of promising starts on Tuesday, leaving themselves with plenty of work to do despite securing their first innings lead of the season. At stumps, Karnataka were 297/7, ahead by 103 runs.In normal circumstances, three points from a drawn game could have been acceptable. But, as head coach R Vinay Kumar pointed out, this is a must-win match. With just two points from as many games, Karnataka need a victory to keep their knockout hopes alive.In a game of fine margins, Karnataka have been struggling to get ahead. Tuesday was another case in point. Against a bowling attack that was, at best, ordinary, the hosts had an opportunity to build a substantial lead, with both young batters keen to make a mark and seasoned campaigners at the crease. Instead, they scored at just 3.2 runs an over and lost wickets at regular intervals on a surface where the odd ball kept low.Resuming at 10/1, rookie Rohan Patil (72; 130b, 9×4) and Vyshak Vijaykumar adopted a cautious approach and nearly saw off the first hour. However, Vyshak fell while attempting to drive a fuller delivery from Sandeep Sarkar, edging it to wicketkeeper Sentu Sarkar. Karnataka had managed just 36 runs by the 20th over.Rohan and KV Aneesh (68; 142b, 6×4) then added 82 for the third wicket, showing patience against the Tripura attack, which didn’t command that kind of an approach.Rohan, known more as a big-hitting white-ball specialist, brought up his maiden first-class half-century off 88 balls with a back-foot punch through the covers. His promising knock ended when he attempted to flick a fuller delivery from Abhijith Sarkar (3/59) and was trapped leg-before.The arrival of seasoned campaigner Karun Nair (68; 85b, 8×4) injected urgency into the innings, his fluent strokeplay unsettling the bowlers. Dropped on 11 by wicketkeeper Sentu off Bikram Debnath, Karun made the most of the reprieve before Sandip Sarkar (2/83) trapped him leg-before as he played forward. His partnership with Aneesh yielded 105 runs, blending aggression with caution.Aneesh, who had looked well set, soon followed, miscuing a short ball from Parvez Sultan to Sandip at midwicket. Skipper Shreyas Gopal (19) was bowled by Sultan, while KL Shrijith (13), who had begun to find his rhythm with a classic sweep for six off Sandip, offered a regulation catch to Bikram Das at cover off Abhijith.Aneeshwar Gautam (33 batting) and Manvanth Kumar (6 batting) saw off the remaining overs, with the latter striking two sixes over long-on and midwicket.While the advantage still firmly rests with Karnataka, the next two days will be about how they can turn into a much-needed victory.SCOREBOARDTripura (I innings): 194.Karnataka (I innings; o/n 10/1): Rohan Patil lbw a Sarkar 72, Vyshak Vijaykumar c C Sarkar b S Sarkar 12, KV Anesh c S Sarkar b Sultan 68, Karun Nair lbw S Sarkar 63, Aneeshwar Gautam (batting) 33, Shreyas Gopal b Sultan 19, KL Shrijith c B Das b A Sarkar 13, Manvanth Kumar (batting) 6. Extras (LB-8, NB-2) 10. Total (7 wkts; 95 overs) 297.Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-36, 3-118, 4-223, 5-225.Bowling: M Murasingh 14-5-38-0, Abhijit Sarkar 17-3-59-2, Bikram Debnath 11-2-35-0, Sandip Sarkar 26-2-83-2, Parvez Sultan 27-2=74-2.Other Group B scores: At Secunderabad: Punjab 431 all out in 124.5 overs (Salil Arora 151, Prabhsimran Singh 81, Ramandeep Singh 52; Chama Milind 4-79, Rakshan Readdi 3-80) vs Hyderabad 193/2 in 54 overs (Abhirath Reddy 97, Rahul Radesh 72 batting).At Rajkot: Assam 281 vs Saurashtra 156/4 in 68 overs (Hetvik Kotak 65 batting).At Vijayawada: Andhra 231 all out vs Chhattisgarh 216/8 in 95 overs (Amandeep Khare 74 batting, Anuj Tiwary 34; T Vijay 3-73).