Karthik was the lone batsman to take the hosts past Baroda's first innings total of 162, even as other batsmen failed to reach the double-digit mark, except for M Rangarajan (10).
Tamil Nadu's first innings folded for 233 as Baroda skipper Yusuf Pathan wreaked havoc with figures of six for 84, while Bhargav Bhatt chipped in with three for 79.
Karthik, who scored a 150-ball 92 (8X4, 3X6), put on a solid 83-run stand for the fourth wicket with Baba Indrajith, followed by another valuable 39 runs for the sixth wicket with Rangarajan.
Baroda, in their second innings, reached 73 for one at close of play today.
Also Read
After opener Saurabh Wakaskar (20) got out, Dhiren Mistry and Aditya Waghmode made sure there was no further damage on the day.
While Mistry was unbeaten on 29, Waghmode was on 19 when the stumps were drawn.
Brief scores:
Baroda: 162 & 73 for one in 33 overs (Dhiren Mistry batting 29),