Karnataka need a miracle

Binnys men take on Maharashtra in final group tie

When Karnataka enter the field to face Maharashtra at the picturesque Subrata Roy Sahara stadium from Saturday, they will have little time to adore the venue as their reputation hangs in the balance.

Despite entering this Ranji Trophy season as one of the favourites to go all the way, Karnataka stumbled at various junctions to be sixth in the Group ‘B’ after seven games with a mere 15 points.

Even if they do manage to get the better of Maharashtra in their eighth and final league encounter on a pitch known to favour batsmen from day one, they will have to await the result of the match between Delhi (17) and Vidarbha (19) to see if they can progress any further.

And if Karnataka’s inconsistent batting wasn’t a big enough concern, they have another issue in the form of an injured Manish Pandey. The stylish middle-order batsman may not feature in the playing eleven for this crucial game due to a tennis elbow.

Even though the 23-year-old has not been in the best of touches — he has managed a mere 325 runs from eleven innings and has been lacklustre on the field — he has a big impact when he fires and his absence will hurt Karnataka’s chances. In case Pandey does not get the nod, either Ganesh Satish, who was missing from the squad against Haryana, or debutant Karun Nair will get a look in.

While batting collapses and the possibility of losing out on Pandey is a worry, the return of paceman Abhimanyu Mithun will iron out a few creases on coach J Arun Kumar’s forehead. Mithun will lead the pace battery in the absence of an injured R Vinay Kumar.
SL Akshay, HS Sharath and skipper/ part-time seamer Stuart Binny complete the pacers’ line-up.

“We realised that picking up twenty wickets has been a problem for us,” said Arun Kumar. “On this wicket taking those wickets is only going to be tougher but we have no choice.
This is literally a do-or-die battle for us. We have to put our heads together and win this game. After that we have to wait and see where we go from there.”

In an attempt to increase their chances of gathering six points -- possibly a bonus point as well -- for only the second time this season Karnataka will also go in with two full-time spinners on a pitch which might assist the tweakers on day three and four. Left-arm orthodox SK Moinuddin replaces a largely unsuccessful KP Appanna in making his much-awaited debut while off-break bowler K Gowtham, who last played in their match against Uttar Pradesh, will get another chance to turn his arm over.

Different challenges

While Karnataka are fighting to make the quarterfinals, Maharashtra are attempting to stay away from relegation. Coached by Surendra Bhave, the bottom-placed Maharashtra (11 points) have been every team’s piñata this season. Their position in this game may not be too different, but with the young camp readying themselves for the upcoming Vijay Hazare trophy, they are expected to make wholesale changes in the playing eleven, and that could upset Karnataka’s preparations.

Permutations are aplenty but both teams know that only one thing can soothe every sour memory they have had to endure until now — a victory.