You don't have to be an Einstein to know where Karnataka went wrong that saw them knocked out of the race for the elusive seventh Ranji title before their last-round match against Maharashtra. The former multiple champions might think they did acquit themselves well with a comprehensive innings win over Maharashtra, but the win -- apart from catapulting them to a face-saving fourth place in the eight-team Group 'A' - did precious little to assuage their poor performance for most part of the season.
While it would be gross injustice to put the entire blame on any particular department of the game, it must be said that batting was Karnataka's weakest link. In a format as this where the major thrust is on the batsmen in the shape of first innings lead fetching some valuable points in a drawn encounter, they ought to have come to the fore more often than not.
In the seven matches they played, Karnataka's batting clicked twice - against Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra - and on both occasions they scored innings wins. In the matches against Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan they conceded lead while against Saurashtra they lost a match they should have won. Barring the match against Delhi, which was washed out in the rain, and Tamil Nadu, Karnataka's bowling, considering that they had only three bowlers who accounted for more than ten wickets in the season, was little short of extraordinary. That two - medium R Vinay Kumar and left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi -- of the top three wicket-takers of the season are from Karnataka is an obvious hint to that compliment. Vinay, with 40 wickets from seven matches, is the highest wicket-taker in the country after the Super League fixtures while Joshi, with 34 scalps, stands third in the list.
At 37, Joshi is still the best bet when it comes to spin bowling. While you have to doff your hat at the veteran's durability and his utility to the side, it is also a sad reflection on the inability of a State, with the greatest spin tradition in the country, to produce a suitable replacement.
Providing sting
Another medium pacer NC Aiyappa (24 wickets), featuring almost the entire season for the first time since his debut, provided the much-needed sting to the attack. Between them the three accounted for a whopping 98 wickets. The same, however, can't be said about the batsmen. Their failure against Saurashtra, against whom the bowlers had set the match up for them, should hurt them the most. It must have been a painful experience - as he often made it obvious - for coach Vijay Bharadwaj to his batsmen surrender their wickets at the first available opportunity to do so. Himself a part of the 'golden era' of Karnataka cricket in the late 90s when they bagged three Ranji titles, no one understands the value of batting well more than Bharadwaj. It was a time when at least two Karnataka batsmen figured in the top five run-getters in the country. To drive home the point even closer, Robin Uthappa, with over 800 runs was the highest run-getter in the league phase while Thilak Naidu, with just fewer than 700 runs under his belt, was among the top-five in the country last season. And Karnataka reached the semifinals of the premier competition.
Have a look at Karnataka's batting this season. The highest run-getter for the State this season is the rookie opener KB Pawan, who is perched at number 24 in the list of top scorers! Rahul Dravid, who appeared in the first two matches, is the second highest scorer with 374 followed by skipper Yere Goud and Thilak Naidu. Uthappa's return to the fold made little difference apart from providing the line-up with an intimidating look on the paper. One hopes, for the sake of Karnataka and more importantly for his fledgling international career, it is just a short phase the youngster is going through.
It is always easy to be wise on the hindsight, but saying that one ought to question the selection of Sudhindra Shinde ahead of Bharath Chipli, who with only his third hit in the season slammed a sparkling ton batting at number seven. Shinde clearly lacked the temperament needed at this level. And whatever happened to Deepak Chougule!
Amidst a disappointing season brought upon largely by the failure of the batsmen, there were some important gains made by Karnataka. In Pawan they have found a solid opener while it was heartening to see, after a long time, two quality pacers operate from both the ends. Vinay-Aiyappa combo augurs well for the feature, but knowing how prone the latter is to injuries, Karnataka need to build a bowling bench strength just as they look to bolster their batting.
