Upbeat Karnataka target Odisha

Defending champs gun for another win after the success against Rajasthan

After ending their quest for their first win of the season against Rajasthan in commanding fashion, defending champions Karnataka will look to produce another solid performance and strengthen their chances of a quarterfinal berth when they take on Odisha in their Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy encounter here at the SDNRW Stadium from Saturday.  

After a tepid start to their title defence, which saw them muster only draws in their first four games, Karnataka finally got their act together against Rajasthan and their thumping victory against the Ashok Menaria-led-side has placed them third on the table, with 14 points to their credit. Delhi (18) and Vidarbha (16) occupy the top two spots in the group.

The biggest positive gained by Karnataka from their previous game was the manner in which the victory was achieved. For the first time in the season, the Vinay Kumar-led side showed the right kind of aggression and urgency. The Karnataka bowlers were on target and consistent while the batting unit, which struggled a bit in the first innings, showed the much needed brilliance in the second essay.

Despite possessing one of the best sides in domestic circuit, Karnataka haven’t been fortunate to get their full strength in this season for different reasons. With two matches to go in the group stage after the Odisha tie, the return of Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Mithun and HS Sharath couldn’t have come at a better time. With a near-full strength squad at their command, the hosts would look to go for the kill against the Rajesh Dhuper-captained-side, who are placed seventh on the table with nine points.

While Karnataka are the favourites, the hosts cannot afford to take Odisha lightly, as the visitors can trouble them, with a couple of fine performers in their ranks. Medium-pacer Basant Mohanty has been in menacing form and the seasoned campaigner will lead the bowling attack. Mohanty, who claimed a match-haul of eight wickets in Odisha’s victory against Assam and a six-wicket haul against Delhi in the second innings in their previous game, will look to trouble the Karnataka batting.
 
On the batting front, Govinda Podder, with two centuries so far, has helped Odisha post competitive totals this season and will eye another big knock against the hosts.

For Karnataka, the return of Nair would mean the omission of either Abhishek Reddy or attacking batsman Mayank Agarwal. Youngster David Mathias, despite his impressive performances, might have to sit out, to accommodate seniors Mithun or Sharath in the bowling ranks.

R Samarth has shown immense consistency and with 440 runs from five games, the right hander will be a tough nut to crack for the visitors. Robin Uthappa, who failed to convert his starts in the initial few games, was back to his attacking best in the game against Rajasthan and the senior player would want to lead by example in the important encounter.

In their previous game at this venue, Karnataka were upset by the behaviour of the crowd but they will have to put behind those issues as they target another victory.


Teams: Karnataka: Vinay Kumar (Captain), CM Gautam (vice-captain), R Samarth, Robin Uthappa, J Suchith, Shreyas Gopal, Abhimanyu Mithun, S Arvind, Mayank Agarwal, Stuart Binny, David Mathias, Abhishek Reddy, HS Sharath, Karun Nair, Udit Patel.

Odisha: Natraj Behara, Girija Prasanna, Rajesh Dhupar, Govind Poddar, Bilap Samanthray, Anurag Sarangee, Pratik Das, Ranjith Das, Haladar Das, Basanth Mohanty, Deepak Behara, Suryakanth Pradhan, Alok Sahoo, Alok Mangaraj, Dhiraj Singh, Amith Das.

Umpires: Nitin Pandit and Virendar Sharma. Match referee: Prakash Bhat. Hours of play: 9:30 am to 12:00 noon; 12:40 pm to 2:40 pm; 3:00 pm till end of day’s play.

Fixtures:
Group A:  Bengal vs Vidarbha; Delhi vs Maharashtra; Haryana vs Assam; Karnataka v Odisha
Group B: Gujarat vs Baroda; Madhya Pradesh vs Railways; Mumbai vs Uttar Pradesh; Tamil Nadu vs Andhra.

Group C: Himachal Pradesh vs Services; Jharkhand vs Jammu & Kashmir; Kerala vs Tripura; Saurashtra vs Goa.