Having surrendered the advantage to their opponents on four out of five occasions with some inept batting, Karnataka understand this bitter truth more than any other team in their group...
Just as you can't credit a single department for winning you a game — especially in the longer version — it is equally unjustified to single out a particular area for losing a game. But in this format, where the onus is on the batsmen, you have absolutely no hope at all if your batting fails repeatedly.
Having surrendered the advantage to their opponents on four out of five occasions with some inept batting, Karnataka understand this bitter truth more than any other team in their group. It is this perceived fear of failure with the bat that had forced Karnataka to pack their side with seven specialist batsmen in their encounter against Saurashtra in Mysore last week. Yet, it made little difference to the hosts' fortunes as their batsmen failed to rise above the mediocre once again.
As they go into their sixth-round Ranji Super League match against Group 'A' leaders Delhi at the Chinnaswamy stadium here from Monday, Karnataka will once again be hoping for their batsmen to come to the party. "I just hope our first innings batting improves. In these two games, the immediate one against Delhi and the next one against Maharashtra, we should get a first innings lead to begin with, and that will boost the confidence of the side as we then play the one-day tournament," said coach Vijay Bharadwaj.
Two changes
Karnataka have effected two changes to the side that took on Saurashtra. Sudhindra Shinde, who did little to justify the 'long rope' given to him, and all-rounder B Akhil have been left out of the 15-member squad while infusing young blood in the shape of India under-19 batsman Manish Pandey and left-handed middle-order bat Amit Verma.
It is unlikely that either of the two will make his debut on Monday, but with Robin Uthappa reportedly not in the pink of his health — and we are not talking about his batting — there is an outside chance of one of the duo making the final cut.
It is, however, more or less certain that wicket-keeper Devraj Patil will make his Ranji debut, albeit as a batsman.
The lanky right-hander had warmed the bench the entire season last year and has been with the team through this season. For the first time since his debut, NC Aiyappa — plagued by injuries in his chequered career — played five matches at a stretch and just when it seemed the medium-pacer was primed for a long run, comes a hamstring injury. This allows Mysore medium-pacer S Dhananjaya to get his first match of the season. Left-arm duo of Sunil Joshi and KP Appanna will as usual shoulder the spin department.
Delhi on the other hand have a few selection worries. Though top batsman Gautam Gambhir — suffering a sore shoulder — and pace spearhead Ishant Sharma's - part of the India squad to Australia — absence in their last match against Maharashtra made little difference in their seven-wicket triumph, the two will be missed here.
With regular skipper Virender Sehwag — part of the Indian team — too not available, middle-order bat Mithun Manhas will lead the side. Along with their top-scorer Aakash Chopra (568), Manhas has a reliable batting line-up to fall back on.
Left-arm seamer P Sangwan, with 20 wickets, right-arm medium-pacer Rajat Bhatia (16), leg-spinner Chaitanya Nanda (15) have held more than their own. Coach Vijay Dahiya didn't rule out playing paceman Parvinder Awana, whose hat-trick did Maharashtra in at Nagothane.
Teams (from):
Karnataka: Yere Goud (captain), Robin Uthappa, KB Pawan, Bharath Chipli, C Raghu, Devraj Patil, Manish Pandey, Thilak Naidu (wk), Amit Verma, Sunil Joshi, R Vinay Kumar, NC Aiyappa, S Dhananjaya, Udit Patel, KP Appanna.
Umpires: S J Phadkar (Vidarbha), Alok Bhattacharjee (Bengal); Match referee: M Y Ranade (Maharashtra).
Hours of play: 0930 to 1200 hours; 1240 to 1440 hours and 1500 to end of play.
