An inevitable fall from top
Madhu Jawali, December 6, 2015, DHNS
Cricket Ranji Trophy : Batsmen, bowlers faltered at crucial junctures for Karnataka
There was an air of inevitability to Karnataka’s premature exit from the Ranji Trophy of which they were the defending champions for the last two years.
There will be new Ranji champions this season and that means Karnataka can’t defend the Irani Cup which they had won for the last two years. All that the R Vinay Kumar-led side is left with is the Vijay Hazare Trophy which also has been with them for the last couple of seasons.
While it’s always difficult to comprehend the fall of a champion player or a team, the signs of it becoming a reality were apparent; much before Karnataka lost to Maharashtra, their first loss in 35 Ranji matches. Barring the two matches – against Odisha and Rajasthan whom they defeated outright for their only two wins of the season – they never appeared a champion outfit that people had become accustomed to. The ruthlessness with which they crushed their opponents and the ability to lift their game whenever the chips were down were missing from the first match – against Assam – where they conceded first-innings lead.
Karnataka batsmen were bundled out for a sub-200 total by a disciplined Assam attack while their bowlers failed to dismiss the hosts on a last-day wicket. It was a total team failure and, barring a few instances, it was pretty much the theme of their doomed campaign. Their star-studded batting line-up was quite average while their famed attack was way below par. Karnataka of course never had a settled combination owing to various reasons. They were constantly forced to chop and change as the first-choice players were either injured or were doing national duties.
That said, the numbers tell you where Karnataka went wrong this time. To start with batting, their highest run-getter Robin Uthappa (759) is fourth in overall top run-makers’ list after the league phase. Uthappa, with 912 runs, was the overall highest run-getter the last season. Where Karnataka had two batsmen in the top 10 the last season – KL Rahul (838) at fourth – they only have Uthappa this time. Karun Nair is the only other batsman to top 500 runs this season as against six in 2014-15. This had direct impact on team totals.
While they had two 700-plus totals last season, this time their highest total was 542. The big innings were also missing from their blades. Of the 12 centuries Karnataka batsmen brought up last season, KL Rahul and Karun Nair had a triple ton each while R Samarth and Manish Pandey had scores of 180 and 193 respectively. Of the 11 hundreds this time, Uthappa’s innings of 160 is the highest for them.
While Uthappa picked up after a disappointing first half, Samarth’s woes at the top after a brilliant beginning to the season often denied Karnataka the good starts. Pandey was injured half of the season and when he was available, he scored only sporadically. Bulk of Nair’s 500 runs came in two matches while CM Gautam, with just one half-century, was the biggest let down.
The bowling was no different either. R Vinay Kumar, A Mithun and S Arvind had bagged wickets by the bagful in their winning campaign the last time. While Vinay was country’s top wicket-taker with 48 scalps, Arvind was at fourth overall with 42 victims. Mithun had 39 sticks to his credit that placed him at seventh position.
This time the trio’s performance was abysmal by their own high standards. Their combined tally of 50 wickets this time failed miserably against the 129 they had the last season.
This explained why Karnataka were not able to bowl out opponents in the second innings despite ample time on their side. Assam, Bengal, Vidarbha and Delhi defied Karnataka’s much-vaunted bowling to deny them some valuable points.
Even in their last match against Maharashtra, they allowed a tail-ender to get a half-century in the second innings on a bowler-friendly surface after their batsmen had floundered to concede a handy 32-run first-innings lead to the hosts. That they had just one five-wicket haul by H S Sharath for the whole season reflected the struggles of each bowler.
There were other factors that contributed to their early departure from the competition. They had no quality spinner to complement their pace unit. J Suchith failed to build on his promising start while Shreyas Gopal’s leg-spin lacked the bite. And the team management had no confidence in off-spinner Udit Patel, who played just one match. In a season where spinners are ruling the roost, Karnataka desperately yearned for one.
The pitches at home did them no favours either. While doctoring pitches has been the flavour of the season, Karnataka showed their generosity by rolling out batting strips in at least two matches that blunted their strength – pace attack. Karnataka played as many as five matches at home this season, but there appeared to be no “home advantage” for them.
The wicketkeeping-gate, wherein Uthappa and Gautam were asked to swap duties behind the wickets so that the former can enhance his India chances, was a bizarre idea and only added to the confusion.
There will be new Ranji champions this season and that means Karnataka can’t defend the Irani Cup which they had won for the last two years. All that the R Vinay Kumar-led side is left with is the Vijay Hazare Trophy which also has been with them for the last couple of seasons.
While it’s always difficult to comprehend the fall of a champion player or a team, the signs of it becoming a reality were apparent; much before Karnataka lost to Maharashtra, their first loss in 35 Ranji matches. Barring the two matches – against Odisha and Rajasthan whom they defeated outright for their only two wins of the season – they never appeared a champion outfit that people had become accustomed to. The ruthlessness with which they crushed their opponents and the ability to lift their game whenever the chips were down were missing from the first match – against Assam – where they conceded first-innings lead.
Karnataka batsmen were bundled out for a sub-200 total by a disciplined Assam attack while their bowlers failed to dismiss the hosts on a last-day wicket. It was a total team failure and, barring a few instances, it was pretty much the theme of their doomed campaign. Their star-studded batting line-up was quite average while their famed attack was way below par. Karnataka of course never had a settled combination owing to various reasons. They were constantly forced to chop and change as the first-choice players were either injured or were doing national duties.
That said, the numbers tell you where Karnataka went wrong this time. To start with batting, their highest run-getter Robin Uthappa (759) is fourth in overall top run-makers’ list after the league phase. Uthappa, with 912 runs, was the overall highest run-getter the last season. Where Karnataka had two batsmen in the top 10 the last season – KL Rahul (838) at fourth – they only have Uthappa this time. Karun Nair is the only other batsman to top 500 runs this season as against six in 2014-15. This had direct impact on team totals.
While they had two 700-plus totals last season, this time their highest total was 542. The big innings were also missing from their blades. Of the 12 centuries Karnataka batsmen brought up last season, KL Rahul and Karun Nair had a triple ton each while R Samarth and Manish Pandey had scores of 180 and 193 respectively. Of the 11 hundreds this time, Uthappa’s innings of 160 is the highest for them.
While Uthappa picked up after a disappointing first half, Samarth’s woes at the top after a brilliant beginning to the season often denied Karnataka the good starts. Pandey was injured half of the season and when he was available, he scored only sporadically. Bulk of Nair’s 500 runs came in two matches while CM Gautam, with just one half-century, was the biggest let down.
The bowling was no different either. R Vinay Kumar, A Mithun and S Arvind had bagged wickets by the bagful in their winning campaign the last time. While Vinay was country’s top wicket-taker with 48 scalps, Arvind was at fourth overall with 42 victims. Mithun had 39 sticks to his credit that placed him at seventh position.
This time the trio’s performance was abysmal by their own high standards. Their combined tally of 50 wickets this time failed miserably against the 129 they had the last season.
This explained why Karnataka were not able to bowl out opponents in the second innings despite ample time on their side. Assam, Bengal, Vidarbha and Delhi defied Karnataka’s much-vaunted bowling to deny them some valuable points.
Even in their last match against Maharashtra, they allowed a tail-ender to get a half-century in the second innings on a bowler-friendly surface after their batsmen had floundered to concede a handy 32-run first-innings lead to the hosts. That they had just one five-wicket haul by H S Sharath for the whole season reflected the struggles of each bowler.
There were other factors that contributed to their early departure from the competition. They had no quality spinner to complement their pace unit. J Suchith failed to build on his promising start while Shreyas Gopal’s leg-spin lacked the bite. And the team management had no confidence in off-spinner Udit Patel, who played just one match. In a season where spinners are ruling the roost, Karnataka desperately yearned for one.
The pitches at home did them no favours either. While doctoring pitches has been the flavour of the season, Karnataka showed their generosity by rolling out batting strips in at least two matches that blunted their strength – pace attack. Karnataka played as many as five matches at home this season, but there appeared to be no “home advantage” for them.
The wicketkeeping-gate, wherein Uthappa and Gautam were asked to swap duties behind the wickets so that the former can enhance his India chances, was a bizarre idea and only added to the confusion.
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