It’s a knockout game, there are no second chances, and that’s something Karnataka and Haryana are all too aware going into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal beginning on Monday.
Karnataka have been off the boil in the first innings in their last three games, and skipper Ganesh Satish conceded that it was something that had occupied the mind-space of the group. “Yeah, we have spoken about it, we may not get a second chance in a knockout game,” the right-handed number three said. “In Shimoga (against Uttar Pradesh), we said we had to play the game as if it were a knockout, because we had already qualified.
“It didn’t work in the first innings (when Karnataka were bowled out for 314), but we applied ourselves much better in the second and it showed,” added Satish, referring to his team’s 561 for five. “In the first innings, they were a bowler short (RP Singh was out injured) and still bowled us out. In the second, they had all their bowlers but we still made a huge score.”
While the overall ambition remains unaltered, Satish said the team needed to stay in the present. “Our goal is to obviously win the Ranji Trophy, but we’re taking it one game at a time,” remarked the young man, who said the Chinnaswamy strip was a ‘bat first’ surface. “Haryana are definitely not a side to be underestimated. In fact, we conceded the first-innings lead last year in Rohtak. So we’re not taking them lightly.”
His counterpart Amit Mishra said Haryana had nothing to lose. “We have come here with a positive mindset,” remarked the leg-spinner. “We’ll try our best. We know how to do well in these conditions. We’ve got some good youngsters like Mohit Sharma, Ashish Hooda, Priyank Tehlan and Prateek Pawar.”
Mishra is his team’s leading wicket-taker with 19 sticks. “In the first one or two matches, I didn’t do that well but it’s coming together now,” said the experienced bowler. “I got wickets in the last couple of games. I’ve also worked on my batting and I’ve scored some runs. I’m happy to contribute in any way.”