Poor scheduling robbed youngsters of an opportunity

Mohali: The Ranji Trophy semifinal clash between Punjab and Karnataka at the PCA stadium here ended exactly the way it began five days ago – with a rain-soaked day. It meant a watery grave for Punjab in their backyard as Karnataka, who spent the last five days playing more football and sepak takraw than cricket, sealed their place in the final by virtue of a first innings lead.

What was touted to be a clash between two formidable sides in the country’s premier domestic competition ended up being a sham with the weather — perhaps, more pertinently the scheduling — being the culprit. The final day on Wednesday was a complete wa­shout with no let-up in the rain that began in the wee hours. In between the showers, the umpires made several trips to the centre before calling off the match at 12.45 pm.

A meagre 211 overs was all that was possible over five days in this fixture, in about 16 hours of play.

Even in that small window, the quality of cricket was pretty high. For Karnataka, it was a case of literally making hay while the sun shined. First it was skipper R Vinay Kumar, who came to the fore with a five-for to skittle Punjab out for a mere 270. Robin Uthappa (47) and Manish Pandey (65) then laid a solid foundation with the bat, while Karun Nair (151 n.o.), Amit Verma (114 n.o.) and CM Gautam (48) shut the door on Punjab. Karnataka’s 447 for 5 ensured the visitors a place in the final, their second in four years. They take on Maharashtra in Hyderabad from January 29.

There were some solid performances from the home side — Jiwanjot Singh (74), Manan Vohra (51) and Yuvraj Singh (42) with the bat — but they were sporadic and not good enough. In the end, the home side was guilty of not pulling together in the same direction.

While the focus now shifts to the final, questions must be raised on the futility of scheduling a semifinal in the northern part of India, by the tournament committee headed by Shivlal Yadav. Conditions in these parts at this time of the year where rain and fog are sure-shot dampeners need to have been taken into consideration

J. Arun Kumar, Karnataka’s batting coach, was of the opinion that the match should have been held at a more suitable venue.

“There are so many other centres in the country where there is sunshine for five days during this time of the year,” Arun said. “In centres like Mumbai or Ahmedabad there would have been no threat of rain. Even the home team players were complaining about the weather conditions. They could have surely had the semifinals at a different venue.”

His Punjab counterpart, Bhupinder Singh (Sr) claimed that the youngsters on either side were robbed of a fair chance of impressing the national selectors who were in attendance here.

“The semifinal game should have gone for five days,” Singh said. “The boys from both the teams should have enjoyed it, having covered this journey over three months. Winning and losing is a part of the game, but I wish the match would have gone on for five days. That way with the national selectors around, the boys would have got an opportunity to showcase their talent. It is advisable to take these semifinals games away from the north.”