It's advantage Karnataka

Former champs set sights on Rajasthan scalp

Punching hard and strong as a team, a confident Karnataka will be eyeing another scalp when they take on an out-of-sorts Rajasthan in their fifth Ranji Trophy Group B encounter here from Sunday, with the spotlight also falling on the returning KL Rahul.

Brought down to earth in stunning fashion last year, Karnataka have been charting the path to reclaim their lost pride in fine style this season. Despite missing key players like Rahul, skipper R Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair separately owing to various reasons, the eight-time champions have kick-started their campaign on a rousing note, scoring three wins and a draw to claim pole position with 23 points.

With back-up personnel and off-spinner K Gowtham, making a comeback after three years in the wilderness, stepping up to the challenge, Karnataka have looked like the team that dominated the domestic season from 2014 onwards until their downfall last season.

Opener R Samarth, the leading run scorer for Karnataka with 372 runs, seasoned campaigner Robin Uthappa, Nair, Stuart Binny and wicket-keeper CM Gautam have all come up with crucial knocks at various stages, the team firing as unit rather than banking one or two individuals.

Karnataka have also been exceptional in the bowling front this season with Gowtham and seasoned pacer Sreenath Arvind being the major contributors.  Gowtham, the 28-year-old who after his debut season (2012-13) looked history before being handed a second life this year, has been the chief architect of two wins. With 20 wickets at a brilliant average of 17.60, Gowtham has not only emerged as the State’s lead spinner but the highest wicket-taker.

Arvind, who last year at this time wore national colours but seemed surplus to Karnataka and failed to make the playing XI for the opening game, received a call-up for the second match against Delhi after skipper Vinay got injured. Bowling with extra determination, Arvind was superb in that match, claiming 4/12 in the first innings as Karnataka rocked Delhi. Looking sharp as ever, the 32-year-old has now scalped 15 wickets and with Vinay too hitting form in his comeback match, Karnataka have solid depth in the bowling department which could test Rajasthan at the Dr P V G Raju ACA Sports Complex.

Karnataka’s only worry is the poor form of Mayank Agarwal but Rahul’s return could ease the pressure on him. Rahul will open with Samarth while Agarwal is expected to bat at No 4 as Pandey failed to recover from his injury.

Rajasthan, on the other hand, have plenty of concerns. They lie fourth in the table (12 points) having played a game more than Karnataka. Their previous visit to this ground against Saurashtra was hardly encouraging, folding up for 105 in the first innings and falling to 30/4 in the second innings in a drawn game.

Barring teenager SF Khan, who slammed a ton on debut in the last match, no-one has notched up a century while captain Pankaj Singh (28 wickets) has been ploughing a lone furrow in the bowling department.

In the two games here so far, the teams that have batted first have amassed big runs while batting becomes a bit tough on the third and fourth day.

Karnataka will be eyeing a fourth win that will virtually seal their quarterfinal spot while Rajasthan will be hoping to spring a surprise and stay afloat.

Fxtures (Nov 13-16): Group A: Uttar Pradesh vs Mumbai (Mysuru); Railways vs Baroda (Nagpur); Gujarat vs Madhya Pradesh (Nagothane); Bengal vs Tamil Nadu (Rajkot).
Group B: Karnataka vs Rajasthan (Vizianagaram); Saurashtra vs Jharkhand (Agartala); Maharashtra vs Vidarbha (Kolkata); Odisha vs Assam (Hyderabad).

Group C: Jammu & Kashmir vs Haryana (Cuttack); Hyderabad vs Services (Mumbai); Kerala vs Goa (Mumbai); Andhra Pradesh vs Tripura (Valsad); Chhattisgarh vs Himachal Pradesh (Kanpur).