Bengaluru: There are no easy games when it comes to knockout rounds. And when you are facing Tamil Nadu, it becomes that much more ominous. This is the task that awaits Karnataka Ranji side when they take to field against their southern rivals in the quarterfinal at Vizag from Dec 23-27.
Despite the magnitude of the game, Karnataka wicket-keeper CM Gautam revealed that they go into the game with a positive mindset. “They are a good side. They have done well this year. In the previous meetings we have done well against them. We are a more confident side going into the quarterfinals,” said Gautam.
“In the last three meetings we’ve done really well against them; two of them were outright wins and we got the first-innings lead in the other game. We have that psychological edge. It’s going to be a high-voltage clash,” he added.
With big names like Murali Vijay and R Ashwin named in the Tamil Nadu squad, though one is unsure if India’s premier spinner will play after a long home Test-season, Gautam stressed that the former champions will be looking to play to their strengths.
“Our aim is to get 3-3.5 runs an over, no matter how the wicket is. That’s the way we play cricket, whether we get 300 or 150. We’ll continue to do that,” remarked the wicket-keeper.
“We have a formidable bowling attack, with (Sreenath) Arvind, (Abhimanyu) Mithun, Vinay (Kumar) and Stuart (Binny). Bhajji (K Gowtham) and Shreyas Gopal have bowled well too. The spinners have done really well this year; they’ve won games for us,” he added.
With big names like KL Rahul, Karun Nair and Manish Pandey, all of whom missed many games owing to international commitments, set to return after the completion of the England Test on Tuesday, it will be a big boost for Karnataka.
However, it has been a year when new faces have walked in and performed for the Vinay-led side.
“The newcomers have put their hands up brilliantly. (Kaunain) Abbas and Pavan (Deshpande) have done well. R Samarth has done brilliantly. Manish played a couple of game and went back, Karun played a couple of games and went back. Rahul, Pandey and Nair can come and always make an impact. Having the three guys back will be a huge confidence booster for us. The advantage is with us,” he opined.
‘Karun has a knack for triples’
As Karun Nair scripted a wonderful triple ton for India on Monday, his Karnataka team-mates, amidst their own practice sessions, had one eye glued to his outstanding essay with the willow.
“Everyone was happy with the way he was batting. We were glued to the mobile phones watching how he was batting. He’s got that knack of scoring triple hundreds,” said Karnataka wicket-keeper CM Gautam.
Uthappa axed; Rahul, Karun back for TN tie
Robin Uthappa was the biggest name missing from the Karnataka squad to face Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals to be held in Vizag from Dec. 23-27.
The swashbuckling batsman, dropped presumably due to ‘disciplinary issues’, has had a poor season so far with just 328 runs from seven matches which includes one century.
Uthappa, was rested during the final league encounter against Saurashtra at Mohali with Pavan Deshpande making his debut in his place. Apparently, the omission didn’t go down well with the senior batsman and now with the selectors wielding the axe, it raises questions about the batsman’s future with the team.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair, on national duty, have been named in 16-men squad for the knockout fixture.
Squad: Vinay Kumar (captain), KL Rahul, R Samarth, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair (vice captain), Stuart Binny, Mir Kaunain Abbas, CM Gautam, Abhimanyu Mithun, Sreenath Arvind, K Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Pavan Deshpande, Abrar Kazi, David Mathias, Mayank Agarwal. Batting coach: J Arun Kumar. Bowling coach: Mansur Ali Khan.
