The first Ranji match to be hosted in the new Bandra Kurla Complex cricket ground was between Karnataka and Assam.
For Karnataka, this was a bit of a revenge match, considering that Assam, in the last meeting between the sides, pulled a number on the (then) 2 time defending champions in the first match of the 2015-16 season.
If this game were to be played in Bangalore, then it wouldn't be a surprise at how many members of the Assam team setup would feel comfortable :) - Consider this.
-The coach of this Assam squad is Sunil Joshi - The 3rd highest wicket taker of all time in Ranji history - who played all his games for Karnataka
-One of the main men in the middle order is Amit Verma - He has played 57 games in the Ranji trophy - The first 36 of these was for Karnataka where he was a decent middle order batsman with a respectable average of 46.
-RCB play their T20 home games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Abu Neechim, Syed Mohammad and Arun Karthick are players who all played a season or 2 in Bangalore and are familiar with the pitch.
Assam won the toss and elected to bat first on an unknown track. Karnataka fielded an unchanged side with their regular season skipper Vinay Kumar still not fit to play. They caught a break - an unfortunate one for Karnataka. In the 3rd over of the day, one of the mainstay of the bowling attack, Mithun pulled up with a groin strain. Undeterred, Karnataka ploughed on. 4 wickets by Aravind, who has turned out to be a very dependable bowler in the last few seasons, in the first session.
Amit Verma, probably familiar with most of the members of the bowling attack, soldiered on, pretty much alone the rest of the day and brought some respectability to the score - 268/6 still has balance in Karnataka's favour. But based on day 1, this does not look like a one-sided contest anymore.
Day 2:
Requiring quick wickets to wrest the initiative from what looked like closing in on an even contest and with hopes of Mithun being back in the lineup from a groin strain suffered early on day 1, Karnataka did not get off to an ideal start on Day 2. Mithun started proceedings on day 2 but could only bowl 1 extra delivery before going off. Not perturbed, the other bowlers stepped up and seemingly broke through. Stuart Binny with the wicket of Puryakastha. 275/7 with the tail coming up would have raised hopes of restricting Assam to under 300. Amit Verma had other ideas. Together with Abu Nechim, he stitched a 40 run partnership for the 8th wicket. Shreyas Gopal, as he has done a few times in the past, finally cleaned up the innings, picking up the last 3 wickets within a span of 10 runs and 7 overs. Still, 325 was a competitive score. Amit Verma stayed unbeated on 166 - A very well compiled hundred.
Samarth and Mayank Agarwal were out to the middle with 13 - 15 overs to be bowled before lunch. Within 3 overs, both openers were back in the pavillion without scoring. At this point, memories of the last season encounter with Assam would have crossed the minds of most of the players. However, the senior pro that he was, Robin Uthappa, together with the stand-in skipper Karun Nair avoided further damage and took the team to 46/2 at lunch, still 279 runs in deficit.
The next 2 sessions would have made the coach and the team smile to no end. Karnataka did not lose a single wicket in the next 2 sessions as the 2 batsmen matched each other run to run and ended the day at 108 runs a piece and the team at 223/2, 102 runs behind the Assam score.
Day 3:
Consolidation was the name of the game for Karnataka when play began on day 3. Still 102 runs in arrears, the overnight batsmen started off on a positive note, getting 46 runs in the first hour of play on day 3. But then the Assam bowlers stuck at regular intervals and, from a position of strength at 269/2, Karnataka slipped to 326/5 in 10 overs' time. Kaunain Abbas got out without registering a score of 50 or more for the first time in his first class career. One of the hallmarks of the season batting-wise for Karnataka has been the lower middle order. No great scores to recollect but a closer inspection reveals timely knocks and consistent ones at that from a combination of Stuart Binny, CM Gautham and Shreyas Gopal.
The 6th and 7th wicket partnerships between Binny / Gautam and Binny / Shreyas Gopal each resulted in excess of 100 runs.
For an outright result, a big lead was the ask of the hour. And it was delivered. When the 5th wicket fell, right up to the point when Shreyas Gopal got out, Karnataka had accelerated to top gear - Scoring 236 runs from 241 deliveries. The innings folded shortly at 570/9 (The injured Mithun unable to take the crease). The lead was a healthy 247. 18 overs were available till the end of day. The bowling unit minus Mithun managed to get the wicket of one of the openers, Rishav Das close to the end of day and Assam finished the day at 49/1.
Day 4:
9 wickets stood between Karnataka and an outright victory on the final day. Spin was going to be the mantra. In the previous match, Gowtham had priced out 5 wickets in the second innings against Delhi. He did not disappoint on the final day, picking up 5 wickets on the trot. By lunch, Assam was unsteady at 140/4 and soon slipped to 166/6 in the second session. By now, survival solely depended on the first innings hero - Amit Verma. Amit Verma stayed put and, just like in the first innings, tried to make something out of the situation in the company of Purkayastha and then Abu Nechim. The second innings brought about some counter attack with the 7th and 8th wicket partnerships accounting for 65 runs in a little more than 13 overs. However, G&G (Gopal and Gowtham) kept at it and soon enough Assam was all out for 264 - A lead of 19 runs. There was time for Vinay Kumar to come in as a substitute fielder and even grab a catch. Positive sign for the next match against Saurashtra, considering Mithun's possible miss due to injury.
Karnataka openers made short work of this target and got there without a loss of a wicket, ensuring that the bonus point was in the bag.
Jharkhand's failure to chase down the target against Vidharbha in their match meant that Karnataka climbed to the top of the table in group B at the end of Gameweek 4.
For Karnataka, this was a bit of a revenge match, considering that Assam, in the last meeting between the sides, pulled a number on the (then) 2 time defending champions in the first match of the 2015-16 season.
If this game were to be played in Bangalore, then it wouldn't be a surprise at how many members of the Assam team setup would feel comfortable :) - Consider this.
-The coach of this Assam squad is Sunil Joshi - The 3rd highest wicket taker of all time in Ranji history - who played all his games for Karnataka
-One of the main men in the middle order is Amit Verma - He has played 57 games in the Ranji trophy - The first 36 of these was for Karnataka where he was a decent middle order batsman with a respectable average of 46.
-RCB play their T20 home games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Abu Neechim, Syed Mohammad and Arun Karthick are players who all played a season or 2 in Bangalore and are familiar with the pitch.
Assam won the toss and elected to bat first on an unknown track. Karnataka fielded an unchanged side with their regular season skipper Vinay Kumar still not fit to play. They caught a break - an unfortunate one for Karnataka. In the 3rd over of the day, one of the mainstay of the bowling attack, Mithun pulled up with a groin strain. Undeterred, Karnataka ploughed on. 4 wickets by Aravind, who has turned out to be a very dependable bowler in the last few seasons, in the first session.
Amit Verma, probably familiar with most of the members of the bowling attack, soldiered on, pretty much alone the rest of the day and brought some respectability to the score - 268/6 still has balance in Karnataka's favour. But based on day 1, this does not look like a one-sided contest anymore.
Day 2:
Requiring quick wickets to wrest the initiative from what looked like closing in on an even contest and with hopes of Mithun being back in the lineup from a groin strain suffered early on day 1, Karnataka did not get off to an ideal start on Day 2. Mithun started proceedings on day 2 but could only bowl 1 extra delivery before going off. Not perturbed, the other bowlers stepped up and seemingly broke through. Stuart Binny with the wicket of Puryakastha. 275/7 with the tail coming up would have raised hopes of restricting Assam to under 300. Amit Verma had other ideas. Together with Abu Nechim, he stitched a 40 run partnership for the 8th wicket. Shreyas Gopal, as he has done a few times in the past, finally cleaned up the innings, picking up the last 3 wickets within a span of 10 runs and 7 overs. Still, 325 was a competitive score. Amit Verma stayed unbeated on 166 - A very well compiled hundred.
Samarth and Mayank Agarwal were out to the middle with 13 - 15 overs to be bowled before lunch. Within 3 overs, both openers were back in the pavillion without scoring. At this point, memories of the last season encounter with Assam would have crossed the minds of most of the players. However, the senior pro that he was, Robin Uthappa, together with the stand-in skipper Karun Nair avoided further damage and took the team to 46/2 at lunch, still 279 runs in deficit.
The next 2 sessions would have made the coach and the team smile to no end. Karnataka did not lose a single wicket in the next 2 sessions as the 2 batsmen matched each other run to run and ended the day at 108 runs a piece and the team at 223/2, 102 runs behind the Assam score.
Day 3:
Consolidation was the name of the game for Karnataka when play began on day 3. Still 102 runs in arrears, the overnight batsmen started off on a positive note, getting 46 runs in the first hour of play on day 3. But then the Assam bowlers stuck at regular intervals and, from a position of strength at 269/2, Karnataka slipped to 326/5 in 10 overs' time. Kaunain Abbas got out without registering a score of 50 or more for the first time in his first class career. One of the hallmarks of the season batting-wise for Karnataka has been the lower middle order. No great scores to recollect but a closer inspection reveals timely knocks and consistent ones at that from a combination of Stuart Binny, CM Gautham and Shreyas Gopal.
The 6th and 7th wicket partnerships between Binny / Gautam and Binny / Shreyas Gopal each resulted in excess of 100 runs.
For an outright result, a big lead was the ask of the hour. And it was delivered. When the 5th wicket fell, right up to the point when Shreyas Gopal got out, Karnataka had accelerated to top gear - Scoring 236 runs from 241 deliveries. The innings folded shortly at 570/9 (The injured Mithun unable to take the crease). The lead was a healthy 247. 18 overs were available till the end of day. The bowling unit minus Mithun managed to get the wicket of one of the openers, Rishav Das close to the end of day and Assam finished the day at 49/1.
Day 4:
9 wickets stood between Karnataka and an outright victory on the final day. Spin was going to be the mantra. In the previous match, Gowtham had priced out 5 wickets in the second innings against Delhi. He did not disappoint on the final day, picking up 5 wickets on the trot. By lunch, Assam was unsteady at 140/4 and soon slipped to 166/6 in the second session. By now, survival solely depended on the first innings hero - Amit Verma. Amit Verma stayed put and, just like in the first innings, tried to make something out of the situation in the company of Purkayastha and then Abu Nechim. The second innings brought about some counter attack with the 7th and 8th wicket partnerships accounting for 65 runs in a little more than 13 overs. However, G&G (Gopal and Gowtham) kept at it and soon enough Assam was all out for 264 - A lead of 19 runs. There was time for Vinay Kumar to come in as a substitute fielder and even grab a catch. Positive sign for the next match against Saurashtra, considering Mithun's possible miss due to injury.
Karnataka openers made short work of this target and got there without a loss of a wicket, ensuring that the bonus point was in the bag.
Jharkhand's failure to chase down the target against Vidharbha in their match meant that Karnataka climbed to the top of the table in group B at the end of Gameweek 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment