Karnataka players during a practice session ahead of the semi-final against Saurashtra. , Photo credit: Sudhakar Jain
Karnataka vs Saurashtra is no rumble in the jungle as far as Ranji Trophy rivalries are concerned. Both teams fancy a good punch-up like they did here in the controversial semi-final of 2018-19 which was won by Saurashtra, but the match-up is neither too old nor too fierce. The battle is still in its early stages.
Although it is true that Saurashtra has been the bane of Karnataka in recent times. Of the last five matches between the two, Karnataka have lost three and lost the first innings lead in the other two. With both the teams qualifying for the semi-finals starting on Wednesday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Karnataka now have a point to clinch.
It will help that Saurashtra will be missing the star trio of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Jaydev Unadkat, all of whom are on national duty. Pujara, in particular, will have a big absence as he has scored 1193 first-class runs against Karnataka in just eight matches, the most against any Indian opponent.
But in recent times, no team has worked towards earning the tag of a heavyweight like Saurashtra and its pedigree alone should make Karnataka wary. Ever since Karnataka last reached the final (2014–15), Saurashtra have made it to the final thrice and won the title once.
Last week, it won the quarterfinal against Punjab without Pujara, Jadeja and Unadkat but left-arm spinner Parth Bhut scored an unbeaten century, a half-century and took eight wickets in the match. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s 37 wickets, skipper Arpit Vasavada’s 577 and Harvik Desai’s 516 have been the other bright spots this season.
But the in-form Karnataka will face a tough fight on home soil. While its batsmen can be expected to continue their good form, the home pace-battery should enjoy what will be a seamer-friendly pitch, according to coach PV Sasikanth.
The trio of V. Vaishak, Vidwat Kawerappa and V. Kaushik together took 76 wickets. M. Venkatesh made his debut in the quarterfinal against Uttarakhand in place of the then injured Kaushik and impressed with seven wickets, thus creating a selection headache.
Shashikant said, “It is good for the side to have an embarrassment of riches.” “There is a lot of fuel in the tank and we will go with the combination that can help us get 20 wickets. If you see, we have been unbeatable in the league stage. We just want to continue that streak.”
Squad (from): Karnataka: Mayank Agarwal (captain), R. Samarth, Devdutt Padikkal, Nikin Jose, Manish Pandey, KV Siddharth, Sharath Srinivas, Nihal Ullal, K. Gautam, Shreyas Gopal, Shubhang Hegde, Vidwath Kaverappa. V. Kaushik, V. Vaishak, M. Venkatesh.
Saurashtra: Arpit Vasavada (Captain), Sheldon Jackson, Prerak Mankad, Chiraj Jani, Samarth Vyas, Harvik Desai, Chetan Sakaria, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Snell Patel, Yuvraj Dodiya, Parth Bhut, Navneet Vora, Devang Karamta, Kushang Patel, Vishvarajsinh Jadeja.